By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks edged up Tuesday, with gains
in shares of miners slightly offsetting a fresh round of losses for
energy companies.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 6,424.71, with a number of mining
shares populating the top end of the benchmark, after figures from
HSBC highlighted resilience in the services sector in China, a key
market for metals. The services sector is holding up well in the
face of a downturn in manufacturing, "providing some counterweight
to the downward pressures on the economy," said HSBC's chief
economist for China, Qu Hongbin, in a statement.
Shares of iron-ore producer Anglo American PLC rose 1.9%, to
lead price performers on the benchmark, and Rio Tinto PLC moved up
1.6%. Randgold Resources Ltd. gained 1.4%.
Meanwhile, Tullow Oil PLC shares fell 1.9%, the lead decliner
among oil shares as oil futures (CLG5) fell further, hitting their
lowest levels in more than five years.
Struggling at the bottom of the FTSE 100 was industrial
equipment rental company Ashtead Group PLC , down 7.3% after
downgrades for U.S. peer United Rentals Inc. (URI) pushed its
shares lower by 11% overnight.
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