By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks popped higher Monday, with
energy shares among the advancers pushing up the benchmark FTSE 100
at the start of a holiday-shortened week.
The FTSE 100 rose 1% to 6,610.77, paced by the energy,
industrial and financial sectors. Tullow Oil PLC shares topped the
index by rising 3.4%, while oil majors Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP
PLC picked up 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Oil stocks have been hit
hard in recent weeks, as oil prices have tumbled to five-year lows
on oversupply concerns in the industry.
Kingfisher shares were higher by 0.4% after the home-improvement
retailer agreed to sell its 70% stake in B&Q China to Wumei
Holdings for 140 million pounds ($219 million).
Trading volumes will be lighter than usual this week, in the
runup to the Christmas Day and Boxing Day holidays.
The FTSE 100 last week climbed 3.9% marking its best week in
more than three years, according to FactSet data.
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