By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
International Consolidated Airlines Group climbs
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks climbed Monday, led by
natural-resource and consumer discretionary plays.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 1% at 6,632.82, its first win in
four sessions, as the index came off a nearly four-month low.
Shares of iron ore miner Rio Tinto leapt 3.6%, and oil producer
BP (BP) was bid up 1.1% as was spirits maker Diageo .
Also among top gainers, air carrier EasyJet and International
Consolidated Airlines Group , parent of British Airways and Iberia,
rose 2.4% and 4.5%, respectively.
On Friday, the FTSE 100 finished at 6,567.36, the weakest close
since April 15, according to FactSet data. It logged a 1.7% decline
last week.
Investors have been "preoccupied with geopolitical concerns, not
least the provocative manner in which Russian troops have been
undergoing 'training exercises' close to the Ukrainian border," as
well as U.S. President Obama's decision to authorize airstrikes
against insurgents in Iraq, said Bill McNamara, technical analyst
at Charles Stanley, in a Monday report.
Friday's news of withdrawal of Russian troops from the border
came too late on Friday for the U.K. market, he said.
Monday's decliners included Friends Life Group Ltd. , down 1.4%
following a downgrade of the insurer at Deutsche Bank to hold from
buy. While the broker still expects to see benefit from further
balance-sheet restructuring, "the degree of upside from this is now
less compelling than it was."
Off the benchmark, Balfour Beatty rose 2.6% after the
construction group rejected a revised takeover offer from rival
Carillion . Separately, Balfour posted a narrower first-half loss
of 27 million pounds ($45.3 million).
Carillion shares ended 1% higher.
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