By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced for a
fourth straight day on Monday, with miners helping beef up the
benchmark as most metals advanced.
The FTSE 100 index added 0.4% to 6,591.94, setting it on track
for a the highest close since late September.
Mining firms crept higher, with particularly the precious-metals
producers getting a lift from a rise in gold and silver prices.
Randgold Resources Ltd. rose 1.7% and Fresnillo PLC picked up 1.9%.
Among larger resources firms, Anglo American PLC added 1.8%,
Glencore PLC (GLCNF) gained 1.4% and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) advanced
1.2%.
Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, said in a note
that the "fact that the dollar index is remaining in check is also
going to help buoy raw material prices," which provides support for
the miners.
"Economic data is set to be thin on the ground in the hours
ahead, but the key point to watch right now appears to be the
greenback. Any renewed push higher for the dollar will once again
unsettle resource prices and have the potential to see the London
index topple," he said.
Outside the main index in London, Serco Group PLC stumbled 29%
after the outsourcing company cut its full-year financial guidance
and said it plans to raise 550 million pounds ($873.2 million) in a
rights issue next year.
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