By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was on track
to break a six-day losing streak on Monday, with Vodafone Group PLC
boosting the benchmark after merger news and with mining firms
tracking metals prices higher.
The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.4% to 6,556.11, following a weak
sentiment last week. The benchmark on Friday closed with the
biggest weekly loss since June last year, while the six days mired
in the red marked the longest losing run since November 2011.
In Monday's trade, heavyweight Vodafone (VOD) helped lift the
FTSE, rising 1.4% after the telecoms firm reached an agreement to
buy Spanish cable operator Ono SA for just over 7 billion euros
($9.7 billion), including debt. The deal follows weeks of
negotiations and will be announced later on Monday, according to
people familiar with the matter.
Miners were also among major advancers, as most metals prices
managed to push higher. Anglo American PLC added 2.2%, BHP Billiton
PLC (BHP) gained 1.4%, and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) put on 1.1%.
Shares of Glencore Xstrata PLC rose 3.1% after people close to
the matter said the mining major was close to reaching an agreement
on the multibillion-dollar sale of its Las Bambas Peruvian copper
project to a Chinese consortium.
Outside the main index in London, home builders had a positive
trading day after U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne
on Sunday said he'd extend the Help-to-Buy scheme until 2020. The
scheme has been a major catalyst in housing construction, and the
chancellor estimated the extension would help finance the building
of 120,000 new homes, according to reports.
Shares of Taylor Wimpey PLC gained 3.5%, Crest Nicholson
Holdings PLC added 3.7%, and Barratt Developments PLC picked up
3.1%.
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