By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Banks and oil firms lead U.K. benchmark higher
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s benchmark stock index kicked
off the new month and quarter in positive territory on Wednesday,
boosted by a solid reading on the country's manufacturing
sector.
The FTSE 100 index added 0.5% to end at 6,809.50, scoring its
biggest gain in more than a week.
On Tuesday, the benchmark slumped 1.7% as investors banked
profit after a solid quarter. The FTSE logged a 3.2% quarterly
gain, the biggest since the last quarter of 2013
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-drops-but-stays-on-track-for-best-quarter-in-more-than-a-year-2015-03-31).
After a wobbly start on Wednesday, U.K. stocks were sent higher
after the CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index for
March rose to an eight-month high. The gauge came in at 54.4,
ticking up from the 54 level in February and higher than consensus
forecasts of 54.2. The PMIs across the eurozone were also generally
upbeat
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-manufacturing-activity-picks-up-in-march-2015-04-01).
One other gauge of economic health was less upbeat, with the
Office for National Statistics reporting a 0.2% drop
(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/productivity/labour-productivity/q4-2014/index.html)
in labor productivity measured by the hour in the fourth quarter of
2014.
The pound (GBPUSD) rose after the PMI to trade as high as
$1.4873, but later slipped back to $1.4838. It exchanged hands at
$1.4819 late Tuesday.
"Any upside to the pound is going to be limited, and it's going
to struggle to find any traction as we near the election," said
Angus Campbell, senior analyst at FxPro. "The rallies have all been
so short-lived, and I think investors don't want to hold sterling
ahead of the election."
Wednesday's movers: Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG)
rose 1.4% after Jefferies lifted the lender to hold from
underperform.
Among other banks, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS)
climbed 1.6%, Barclays PLC (BCS) put on 2.8%, and HSBC Holdings PLC
(HSBC) climbed 0.8%.
Oil firms, which were slammed lower by the declining oil price
on Tuesday, moved broadly higher on Wednesday. Shares of BG Group
PLC added 2.70%, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) picked up 1.6%, and
BP PLC (BP) gained 1.2%. Crude-oil futures rallied on Wednesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-futures-choppy-as-markets-eye-iran-talks-us-supplies-2015-04-01-11035551).
FirstGroup PLC climbed 6.8% after the transportation operator
said trading in the fourth quarter was in line with management's
expectations.
On a more downbeat note, shares of Kingfisher PLC gave up 3.3%.
The do-it-yourself retailer jumped 4.3% on Tuesday after announcing
a round of store closures at its B&Q chain
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kingfisher-net-profit-falls-will-close-stores-2015-03-31).
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