By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks were on a stronger footing
Tuesday, with strength coming in part from the key mining
sector.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% to 6,842.81. The benchmark ended
Monday's session with a 0.1% gain.
Tuesday's advancers included miners Rio Tinto PLC and BHP
Billiton PLC (BHP) , with shares rising 1.3% and 1.4%,
respectively.
An upside "production surprise" looks to be in store at the
Escondida copper mine in Chile, in which BHP has a 57.5% stake and
Rio Tinto a 30% stake, said Deutsche Bank analysts in a Monday
note. A strategy to run three plants at the mine may be adopted by
the companies in 2015, which could increase earnings at BHP and Rio
Tinto by 2% to 3% in the next couple of years, the analysts
said.
Supermarket stocks, most of which fell Monday led by a decline
in Tesco PLC , advanced. Tesco picked up 1.1%, J Sainsbury PLC
gained 1.5% and Wm Morrison Supermarkets edged up 0.4%. Marks &
Spencer Group tacked on 0.1%.
Tuesday's decliners included shares of SSE PLC . The utility
company on Monday said it will sell gas transporter SSE Pipelines
Ltd. to the Environmental Capital Fund for 52.7 million pounds
($87.08 million).
U.K. stocks overall held gains after data firm Markit said
construction output in the U.K. increased by its fastest pace in
seven months in August. The construction purchasing managers' index
came in at 64.0, up from 62.4 in July, and above a 61.0 consensus
estimate. The housing, commercial and civil engineering markets
each logged sharp growth last month, said Markit.
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