By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks finished with a minor gain
Friday following reports of a confrontation between Russia and
Ukraine, but shares of BHP Billiton PLC outperformed the broader
market as the mining heavyweight looked to slim down its
assets.
The FTSE 100 closed up 3.8 points, or 0.1%, at 6,689.08. For the
week, the benchmark rose 1.9%.
The benchmark had been up by as much as 0.8% before news Friday
afternoon that Ukrainian forces destroyed part of a Russian
military unit that was on Ukrainian soil, according to reports
quoting a Ukrainian military spokesperson. The spokesperson said
Russian vehicles entered Ukraine through a section of the border
held by rebels, which prompted the engagement, according to
Bloomberg.
A standout gainer throughout the session was BHP Billiton (BHP)
, finishing up 1.2% after the mining company said it's looking at
making changes in its product portfolio and that a "demerger of a
selection of assets is our preferred option." BHP's board will meet
next week.
BHP said it wants to focus on its major iron-ore, copper, coal
and petroleum assets, and, potentially, its potash business. That
would indicate that assets such as nickel and aluminum may be spun
off, and such a move could create a separate company valued at more
than $8 billion.
The pound (GBPUSD) gave up most of its gains during the session,
trading around late Thursday's level around $1.6688. Sterling had
moved up against the dollar earlier Friday after the U.K. Office
for National Statistics revised its second-quarter gross domestic
product estimate to 3.2% on a year-over-year basis, aided by
strength in the construction sector.
The ONS's preliminary growth estimate was 3.1%. Growth for the
second quarter from the first quarter was confirmed at 0.8%. The
ONS in July said GDP was 0.2% higher than the pre-financial crisis
peak in the first quarter of 2008. (Read more about the pound here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/british-pound-on-track-for-sixth-weekly-drop-2014-08-15.)
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