By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Miners were among the best performers in
the U.K. stock market Monday, helping to lift the benchmark FTSE
100 index, but British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC shares fell as
the media firm sought control of pay-TV assets in Germany and
Italy.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 6,825.58, coming back from a
decline of 0.1% last week.
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) shares paced price performers Monday, rising
3.2% after the iron-ore mining heavyweight was named J.P. Morgan
Cazenove's top pick in the mining sector. The broker's equity
strategy team also raised its view of the mining group to
overweight from underweight, with the second half of 2014 likely to
"see the sector's free-cash-flow improvement, capital-returns
potential and attractive relative valuation begin to be appreciated
more fully," wrote J.P. Morgan analyst Fraser Jamieson.
Shares of copper producer Antofagasta PLC tacked on 2.7%,
diversified miner BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) added 2.3%, and precious
metals miner Fresnillo PLC gained 2%.
Rio Tinto itself is poised to generate an estimated free cash
flow of 9% in 2015, "among the highest across the market, and be in
a position to augment a 4% dividend yield with additional returns
of capital," said J.P. Morgan.
Also posting gains were shares of Petrofac Ltd. . They were up
3.1% in the wake of a 15% slide Friday. That's when the
oil-services firm warned that profit in 2014 would come in lower
than in 2013, largely because of lower-than-expected earnings from
its Integrated Energy Services, or IES, business.
But Barclays PLC (BCS) fell 1.8% following a Financial Times
report on Sunday that Britain's fraud office was stepping up its
investigation into the bank's dealings with Qatar in 2008. Former
chief executive Bob Diamond and other senior members of the bank's
former management are expected to be questioned, said the
report.
Stocks in BSkyB were off 2.5%, putting in the worst performance
on the FTSE, after the company said it's talking to 21st Century
Fox Inc. (NWS) (NWSA) about a possible purchase of the U.S.
company's interests in Sky Deutschland AG and Sky Italia. Sky
Deutschland was the strongest gainer on the Stoxx Europe 600.
More news from MarketWatch:
Russia to 'respect' Ukraine vote; calls for dialogue
Hollande, Merkel urge Kiev to make concessions
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires