By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- After its fifth straight week of losses,
the U.K.'s benchmark stock index inched higher on Monday, with
Aviva PLC rising after upbeat broker comments, while miners dropped
after Chinese data.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to close at 6,559.48, after
swinging between small gains and losses throughout the trading
day.
Helping lift the index, shares of Aviva picked up 2.3% after
Bank of America Merrill Lynch added the insurance firm to its
"Europe 1" list of stock picks and reiterated the buy rating on the
stock.
"We expect Aviva to outperform the sector in the coming year as
the market increasingly values the turnaround story and management
gains credibility," the analysts said.
"Investors prepared to ride out the bumps in the road that will
inevitably lie ahead will ultimately be well rewarded," they
added.
Admiral Group PLC added 0.8% after the car insurer said it
extended its underwriting arrangements with Munich Re AG .
Advertising giant WPP PLC gained 0.3% after saying its 24/7
Media unit acquired Crystal Semantics for an undisclosed sum.
Aberdeen Asset Management PLC moved 0.9% higher after Goldman
Sachs confirmed the firm's neutral rating.
Miners added pressure on the London benchmark after data showed
imports in China slowed down to growth of 5.3% in November from an
increase of 7.6% in October. Shares of Fresnillo PLC lost 2%, Rio
Tinto PLC (RIO) dropped 0.4% and Vedanta Resources PLC lost
2.7%.
Also in the resource sector, shares of Tullow Oil PLC fell 3.3%
after the oil-exploration company said it has plugged a well in the
South Omo block onshore Ethiopia and abandoned it as a dry
hole.
More on the markets:
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