By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Tuesday, with the
benchmark FTSE 100 on track to mark a fresh record high, but shares
of British Gas's parent company Centrica were lower following a
downgrade.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,054.03, aided by gains for tech,
consumer goods and services shares. Home builder Persimmon PLC rose
1.6%, and British Airways parent company International Consolidated
Airlines Group PLC picked up 1.4%, riding among the best
performers.
But decliners included Centrica PLC , with shares down 1.8%
after Deutsche Bank downgraded the parent firm of British Gas to
hold from sell, citing risk from the U.K. general election in
May.
Wolseley PLC shares fell 2.4%, after the company swung to an
interim half-year net loss of 58 million pounds
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wolseley-falls-to-net-loss-but-lifts-dividend-2015-03-24)
($86.8 million). But the heating and plumbing products supplier
also raised its dividend by 10% to 30.25 pence a share.
The FTSE 100 on Monday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-pulls-back-from-record-high-2015-03-23)
notched a new record high, at 7,037.67, aided by gains for resource
shares.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires