By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch)--Resource firms were among biggest gainers
in a mostly upbeat U.K. stock market on Friday, after a
surprisingly strong rise in jobs in the U.S. helped lift
commodities out of negative trading territory.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 5,913.21.
Shares of Kazakhmys PLC rose 1%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gained
0.9%, while BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) picked up 0.7%.
Both metals prices and the broader trading mood on financial
markets were lifted in afternoon action, after the nonfarm payrolls
report from the U.S. showed 146,000 jobs were created in November
and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% from 7.9%. Both data
releases were better than expected by analysts.
U.S. stocks opened higher on Wall Street.
Oil firms also moved higher, as oil prices erased earlier losses
after the encouraging U.S. jobs data. Shares of Royal Dutch Shell
PLC (RDSB) gained 0.6%, while shares of Tullow Oil PLC picked up
0.3%.
On the data front in the U.K., the Office for National
Statistics said industrial production declined 0.8% in October
compared with the previous month. Manufacturing production fell
1.3%.
"Judging by the official data that we have seen for the fourth
quarter so far, notably retail sales, trade and industrial
production, the U.K. will struggle to avoid a renewed downturn in
the economy after the brief return to growth seen in the third
quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, in a
note.
Banking shares were under pressure. Shares of Standard Chartered
PLC fell 0.9%, HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) dropped 0.4% and Royal Bank
of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) lost 0.7%.
Also on the decline in London, shares of Marks & Spencer
Group PLC slumped 1.1%, after Goldman Sachs cut the retailer to
sell from neutral.
Shares of peer firm Tesco PLC (TESO) tracked Marks & Spencer
lower and lost 0.7%.
Goldman Sachs also reiterated its buy stance on do-it-yourself
retailer Kingfisher PLC , its shares rising 0.4%.
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