Most U.K. stocks moved higher on Wednesday, with resources firms in the lead, as investors cheered an unexpected move toward further stimulus measures in Japan.
The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX +0.06% added 0.1% to 5,872.52, poised to break a two-day losing streak.
Oil firms supported the index, even as oil prices erased gains. Royal Dutch Shell PLC UK:RDSB +0.33% RDS.B -0.09% added 0.3%.
BP PLC UK:BP +0.82% BP -0.92% rose 0.8%, after the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the oil group was in talks to sell its Texas City refinery to Marathon Petroleum Corp. MPC -2.93% . Neither BP nor Marathon could immediately be reached for comment. See: BP reportedly in talks to sell Texas City refinery
The broader stock market was also boosted by an announcement from the Bank of Japan that it’ll increase the size of its asset purchases by 10 trillion yen ($126.7 billion) to about ￥80 trillion to support domestic economic activity. See: Bank of Japan adds to stimulus
The Bank of England’s policy makers voted unanimously to leave the bank’s key lending rate at a record-low 0.5% and to maintain the size of its bond-buying program at 375 billion pounds ($610 billion), according to minutes from its meeting earlier in the month. See: BOE voted 9-0 in Sept. to leave policy unchanged
Miners and banks
Most mining firms were on the rise as metals prices mostly moved higher. Kazakhmys PLC UK:KAZ +2.56% gained 2.5%, Anglo American PLC UK:AAL +1.37% added 1.4% and Fresnillo PLC UK:FRES +1.59% rose 1.5%
Smiths Group PLC UK:SMIN +1.44% gained 1.5% after the technology company said in its full-year earnings report that it’s building a solid foundation for higher medium-term revenue growth. Pretax profit declined 8% for the year. See: Smiths Group full-year profit falls 8%
Banks declined, however, as they tracked losses for the sector across Europe.
Barclays PLC UK:BARC -1.95% BCS -1.29% slid 2% and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS -0.59% RBS -2.15% fell 0.7%.
Heavyweight bank HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA +1.40% HBC -0.51% HK:5 +1.30% bucked the trend and rose 1.4%. |
发表于 2012-9-19 07:56
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