By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks bounced up Friday, led by
shares of natural-resources producers, including mining firm Anglo
American PLC.
The FTSE 100 index tacked on 0.5% to 6,861.56, with the oil and
gas group, and the basic-materials group each higher by 2%.
Oil producer Tullow Oil PLC rose 3.9%, topping the blue-chip
index. Oil majors BP PLC (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) were
higher by 1.8% and 1.4%, respectively, as oil futures picked up
more than 1%.
Anglo American shares were heading 3% higher, as the company
posted a 2014 net loss of $2.51 billion on a multibillion-dollar
write-down of some iron-ore and coal-mining assets. The loss was
wider than its 2013 net loss of $961 million.
The mining company's yearly results were "roughly in-line" with
expectations, said Jefferies in a note, with underlying per-share
earnings coming in at $1.73, compared with its forecast for
$1.64.
Anglo held its 2014 dividend at 85 cents a share from the 2013
level. Jefferies said that move was also in-line with expectations,
although its analysts said "we would argue that it would have been
more prudent to cut the dividend, in light of the challenging
environment and increasing net debt levels." Jefferies maintained
its hold rating on Anglo.
Telecommunications provider BT Group PLC led decliners on the
FTSE 100 by falling 2%, and cruise operator Carnival PLC gave up
1.4%.
The FTSE 100 is on track for a weekly gain of 0.4%.
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