By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced for an
eighth straight day on Monday, with mining firms tracking metals
prices higher and supermarket firms in the spotlight after a round
of recommendation changes.
The benchmark index added 0.1% to 6,626.89, adding to a 0.7%
gain from Friday.
Supermarket chains were in the focus after analysts at Deutsche
Bank said the U.K. food retail sector offers inexpensive exposure
to the consumer recovery, but noted that the biggest companies in
the sector have entered a period of structurally lower growth. The
analysts cut Wm Morrisons Supermarkets PLC to sell from hold,
sending the shares 0.5% lower.
The analysts kept Tesco PLC , up 0.5%, at buy and raised the
price target on J Sainsbury PLC to 4.25 pounds ($6.87) from
GBP3.70. Those shares rose 0.9% to GBP3.99.
Mining firms also rose in London, tracking metals prices higher.
Shares of Vedanta Resources PLC climbed 1.9%, Glencore Xstrata PLC
(GLCNF) added 0.7%, and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gained 0.5%.
On a more downbeat note, shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group
PLC (RBS) slid 5.1% after Chancellor George Osborne told the Daily
Telegraph that the government could decide to split the bank within
a matter of weeks.
Other banks were also mostly lower, with shares of Barclays PLC
(BCS) down 1% and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) off 0.3%.
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