By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
U.K. stocks finished higher Thursday, gaining alongside broader
European markets after the European Central Bank's boss said
monetary stimulus for the eurozone will continue as long as it is
needed.
The FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to finish at 6,973.04, after dropping
as low at 0.9% earlier in the session. But equities found firmer
footing in afternoon trade after weekly U.S. jobless claims
unexpectedly dipped, suggesting U.S. employment strength, and
remained at a 15-year low. U.S. stocks jumped
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-set-for-solid-open-with-jobless-claims-ppi-in-view-2015-05-14)at
the opening of trade.
U.K. stocks, and more broadly European markets
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-lower-as-euro-climbs-above-114-2015-05-14),
rose further after ECB President Mario Draghi, in a speech in
Washington
(http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2015/html/sp150514.en.html),
said the bank remains committed to providing monetary policy
support for the eurozone economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% to
397.99.
The European Union represents the U.K.'s biggest trading
partner.
The ECB in March launched EUR1.1 trillion bond-buying program
aimed at beating deflation risks and encouraging economic growth,
and "quite some time is needed before we can declare success," said
Draghi. Monetary policy stimulus "will stay in place as long as
needed for its objective to be fully achieved on a truly sustained
basis," he said.
The FTSE 100's gain was limited in part by losses among mining
stocks, with some London-listed firms following up on declines in
Asian trade overnight. Shares of iron-ore producers BHP Billiton
PLC (BHP) fell 1.3% and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gave up 0.8%.
"The run iron-ore miners had experienced now seems to have come
to a screeching halt as the retreat in iron-ore prices and a higher
[Australian dollar] takes a toll," Stan Shamu, market strategist at
IG, wrote Thursday.
Also lower, miner Antofagasta fell 0.4% and Glencore PLC (GLCNF)
shed 0.2%.
Elsewhere, GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) shares slipped 0.1%
following a ratings downgrade at UBS to neutral from buy. Glaxo
last week abandoned plans to spin off its HIV-drugs focused Viiv
Healthcare division. UBS said Glaxo's 2020 pharmaceuticals outlook
"implies sharp deterioration of pharma margin," excluding ViiV.
ITV PLC posted higher revenue for its first quarter
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/itv-posts-rise-in-revenue-2015-05-14),
but shares ended down 1%.
Advancers on the FTSE 100 included Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC .
Shares rose 2.4% after the company backed its forecast for 2015
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hikma-pharmaceuticals-good-start-to-the-year-2015-05-14).
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