By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- London stocks jumped higher on Thursday,
as mining stocks recovered from a recent slump, driving the FTSE
100 index toward its third-straight winning session.
The FTSE 100 outperformed the rest of Europe, with a 1.3% gain
to 6,247.86, following a 1% gain for Wednesday. The start of
another strong day for Wall Street after upbeat data also helped
underpinned London's gains.
Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) rose 1.8% after Citigroup
reaffirmed its buy rating on the telecom group.
Resource stocks did the heavy lifting as oil prices and some
industrial metals rose. Shares of group Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSA) rose nearly 2%.
Among miners BHP Billiton PLC (BLT) gained 1.7%, Rio Tinto PLC
(RIO) rose over 2.7% and Glencore Xstrata PLC added close to 2%.
Anglo American PLC added 1.7%.
Also among the top performers, shares of WPP Group PLC rose over
3% after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch added the media group to its
most preferred list, citing an "attractive combination of value and
growth."
On the downside in London, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC
(RBS) fell 1%.
Shares of International Consolidated Airlines Group fell 1%
after Spain's Bankia SA said it sold its stake in the group for 675
million euros ($879 million).
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires