By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
U.K. retail sales pull back in January
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks finished higher Friday, with
shares of investment manager Standard Life PLC among those that
helped keep the benchmark FTSE 100 near multiyear highs.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.4% to 6,915.20, ending near its
intraday highs as energy, mining, and telecom issues advanced.
Miner Glencore PLC emerged as the best performer, with shares
rising 3%. Stocks on the broader European market also finished
higher ahead of any announcement from eurozone finance ministers
who met Friday to discuss Greece's request of a loan extension
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/positive-climate-as-greeces-tsipras-speaks-with-german-chancellor-merkel-2015-02-19).
"Will the FTSE finally break through the 6,930 record? A
positive resolution in talks on Greece could push it over the try
line," said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, in
a note late Friday.
The FTSE 100 is closing in on its all-time high of 6,930.20 that
it reached on Dec. 30, 1999, according to FactSet data. The index
ended the week up by 0.6%, marking its third straight weekly
rise.
On Friday, Standard Life climbed 2.7% after the company said
assets under management last year increased 38% to about 300
billion pounds
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-life-assets-under-management-rises-38-2015-02-20)
($460 billion), aided by rising financial markets and its
acquisition of Ignis Asset Management. Pretax profit rose 19% to
GBP604 million.
But on the downside was Kingfisher PLC , the home-improvement
retailer whose brands include B&Q and Screwfix. Its shares fell
1.9%, spending much of the session as the FTSE's lead decliner
following a downgrade to an underweight rating, from equalweight,
at Barclays. "We do not share the bulls' optimism about a QE-led
French housing-market improvement," wrote analyst Christodoulos
Chaviaras. "At the same time, in the U.K., competitive pressure
intensifies as B&Q remains overspaced with an inflexible cost
structure."
Taylor Wimpey PLC switched higher by 0.6% as it and competitor
Bovis Homes Group PLC were named as top picks in the U.K. house
building space by J.P. Morgan Cazenove, which sees 11% upside in
the sector. Home builder Persimmon PLC shares fell 0.9% following
the broker's downgrade to neutral from overweight.
But Bovis shares picked up 3.4% on the FTSE 250 index , as J.P.
Morgan upgraded them to overweight from neutral.
Sterling: The British currency (GBPUSD) bought $1.5381,
recovering from losses earlier in the session against the dollar,
triggered after U.K. sales fell 0.3% in January, more than the 0.2%
decline forecast in a FactSet poll of analysts. The pound late
Thursday bought $1.5416.
The Office for National Statistics noted "a significant increase
in the quantity bought in petrol stations and department stores,
but this did not negate the downwards pressure from predominantly
food stores, textile, clothing and footwear and other stores."
But the pound's earlier decline was softened following a report
showing government borrowing fell in January, noted Fawad
Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com, on Friday. See: U.K.
posts biggest budget surplus since 2008.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-posts-biggest-budget-surplus-since-2008-2015-02-20-5103546)
The near-term bias remains bullish above the $1.5350 level, he
wrote, "but things could get ugly if the low of $1.5315 from
earlier in the week is taken out. In that case, the [pound] could
drop all the way to the next support at $1.5210 before making its
next move."
The euro (EURGBP), meanwhile, stepped higher against sterling,
buying 73.87 pence versus 73.63 pence ahead of the data. The shared
currency earlier Friday had hovered around a seven-year low against
the pound.
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