By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks turned higher Friday, with
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC shares leaping after the bank's
financial update, and as data showed U.K. economic growth expanded
in the second quarter to above pre-crisis levels.
The FTSE 100 reversed course and rose 0.1% to 6,826.83. It was
on track for a weekly rise of more than 1%.
Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC extended their gain
to 12% as the company said it expects pretax profit of GBP2.65
billion for the first half of the year, compared with GBP1.37
billion in the year-ago period. Second-quarter net profit fell on
charges.
Overall, stocks were up after the U.K. Office for National
Statistics estimated U.K. gross domestic product rose by 0.8% in
the second quarter, from the first quarter. The first estimate from
the ONS, which met economists' expectations, indicates output in
the U.K. is back above the last peak, seen in the first quarter of
2008. Year-on-year, GDP rose 3.1%.
Vodafone Group PLC shares gained 2.6%, with the mobile-phone
industry heavyweight saying there's signs of stabilization in some
key European markets, even as quarterly revenue grew at a
lower-than-expected pace
But BSkyB shares led decliners on the index, with a 3% pullback
after the British broadcaster said it will pay 4.9 billion pounds
($8.3 billion) to buy Sky Italia and a 57.4% stake in Sky
Deutschland from 21st Century Fox Inc.(NWS). The deal paves the way
for BSkyB to create a pay-TV business across Europe.
Grabbing attention off the FTSE 100, shares of Balfour Beatty
PLC jumped 10% as the construction and services company said it is
in preliminary merger talks with rival Carillion PLC . Carillion
shares also climbed 10%.
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