By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rallied on Monday after data
showed signs of life in the British economy and the Bank of
England's new governor, Mark Carney, started work.
The FTSE 100 index rose 1.5% to 6,307.78 on Monday after closing
out the prior quarter with a 3% rise. It lost 0.5% on Friday, which
snapped a three-day winning streak.
London shares also followed European and Wall Street stocks
higher, after upbeat data both from the euro zone and the U.S.
Shares of Tullow Oil PLC rose 4.8% after Nomura upgraded the oil
and gas producer to neutral from reduce, saying a trading update
due Wednesday from the company would be a "positive catalyst."
Banks in London gained, with shares of heavyweight HSBC Holdings
PLC (HBC) up 1.9% and Barclays PLC (BCS) up 2.2%. Lloyds Banking
Group PLC (LYG) rose 1.4%.
Mining stocks also rose as investors shook off some lackluster
data out of China, and gold, copper and other base metals prices
rose. Also, upbeat manufacturing data from Europe, where the
purchasing managers' index rose to a 16-month high in the euro zone
and all countries except Germany saw an increase, underpinned
resource stocks.
In the U.K., the Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI index jumped to
52.5, a more than two-year high and stronger than analysts
expected.
Also in the U.K., figures from the Bank of England showed
mortgage approvals at a three-year high.
Among miners, BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) rose 1.9% and Rio Tinto PLC
(RIO) rose 1.9%, while Glencore Xstrata PLC gained 2.8%.
London-based traders were also fixated on the new Bank of
England Governor Mark Carney, who started work Monday. The next
meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee takes
place on Thursday. Read: Carney ready to roll at the Bank of
England.
"No change in rates or asset purchases is expected at this
meeting; however, we can't count out some kind of forward guidance
in relation to interest rates, especially given that Carney has
favored this policy in the past," said Craid Erlam, markets analyst
with Alpari U.K. "Now it's just a case of whether he can sell it to
the other policy makers."
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