By Preeti Upadhyaya, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Wednesday, boosted by
strong corporate results and shrugging off fresh concerns over
Greece's ability to repay debt and a 0.7% contraction in U.K. gross
domestic product, while miners and banks lent support.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 5,519.32.
The U.K.'s GDP dropped 0.7% in the second-quarter compared with
the first quarter of 2012, below analysts' prediction of a 0.2%
drop.
Weighing the index, BT Group PLC (BT) dropped 3.9% after
reporting first-quarter earnings that fell short of expectations,
with disappointing revenue figures.
Also on the move down, Johnson Matthey PLC fell 2.% following
first-quarter results. Tim Stevenson, chairman of Johnson Matthey,
cited "a substantial reduction in operating profit from Precious
Metal Products Division which was particularly impacted by the
effect of lower precious metal prices."
British American Tobacco PLC (BTI) fell 0.4% after posting
slight gains in profit but flat volumes.
Among other notable losers, Tullow Oil PLC fell 4.7% despite
posting strong second-quarter results.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) dropped 1.4% after releasing
second-quarter results that missed expectations. GlaxoSmithKline
chief executive Sir Andrew Witty pointed to "the challenging
macro-economic environment in which we are operating and the
continued transition of our product portfolio."
Lending support in London, semiconductor firm ARM Holdings PLC
added 6.4% after its second-quarter results beat expectations. ARM
Chief Executive Warren East said, "ARM's royalty revenues continued
to outperform the overall semiconductor industry as our customers
gained market share within existing markets and launched products
which are taking ARM technology into new markets."
Capita PLC climbed 3.8% following second-quarter results that
showed the personnel firm had landed several new contracts and 10
new businesses in 2012.
RSA Insurance Group PLC was also on the rise, picking up
3.4%.
Further lifting the index, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC
(RBS) jumped 3.3%, while banking major HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC)
picked up 1.4%. Standard Chartered PLC rose 1.1%. Barclays PLC
(BCS) gained 1%.
Mining firms lent additional support, as metal prices rose
across the board. Vedanta Resources PLC added 2.4% and Eurasian
Natural Resources Corp. PLC climbed 1.8%. Industry giant Rio Tinto
PLC (RIO) gained 0.9%.
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