LONDON MARKETS: Miners, Sainsbury Boost FTSE 100
02/22/2013| 06:00am US/Eastern
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By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks on Friday recovered a portion of the losses scored in the previous trading session, with mining firms pushing higher on the back of rebounding metals prices and J Sainsbury PLC on the rise after a broker upgrade.
The FTSE 100 index added 0.7% to 6,334.51, climbing back after a 1.6% decline on Thursday.
Shares of J Sainsbury gained 1.6%, after Citigroup lifted the supermarket retailer to buy from neutral.
Additionally, the bank said it expects earnings from Tesco PLC (>> Tesco Corporation), up 0.2%, and Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC to disappoint, down 0.1%.
Mining firms were also among notable movers in London, as most metals prices moved higher. Shares of Kazakhmys PLC gained 3%, Antofagasta PLC rose 2.4% and heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC (>> Rio Tinto plc) advanced 1.8%.
The broader U.K. stock market benefited from a pickup in risk appetite across Europe after the German Ifo Business Climate Index jumped to 107.4, topping forecasts for a 104.7 and fueling hopes that Europe's largest economy is recovering. .
Risk-sensitive banks were among advancers. Barclays PLC (>> Barclays PLC) added 1.2%, Lloyds Banking Group PLC gained 0.8% and HSBC Holdings PLC (>> HSBC Holdings plc) rose 0.7%.
Oil shares were also in positive territory, as oil prices inched higher. BG Group PLC rose 1.1%, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) gained 0.5% and BP PLC (>> BP plc) inched 0.1% higher.
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