By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks moved firmly higher on
Tuesday with mining firms and banks leading the way north, boosted
by upbeat data from China.
The FTSE 100 index rallied 0.8% to 6,583.99, closing at the
highest level since mid-August.
The benchmark was buoyed by encouraging data from China, with
the mining sector in particular performing well. China is a major
user of natural resources so commodity firms tend to rise on growth
indications from the country.
Industrial production in China rose 10.4% in August, up from
9.7% in July and beating expectations of a 9.9% gain. Additionally,
retail sales jumped 13.4%, also topping analyst expectations. Asia
stocks closed in positive territory.
Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gained 2.8%, Anglo American PLC
put on 2.4% and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) added 1.7%.
Shares of Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) put on 2.3% after the
newly merged company said it has identified at least $2 billion of
synergies for 2014, exceeding the initial merger guidance of $500
million.
The broader market also found support in news about the Syria
conflict where fears of a U.S. military attack receded. The Syrian
government accepted a Russian proposal to give up its chemical
weapons to the international community to avert a U.S. military
attack to "remove the grounds for American aggression," Interfax
news agency said, according to Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama said in a series of television
interviews late Monday that if the Syrian government were to give
up its chemical weapons, the U.S. would put airstrikes on hold.
Banks were among notable movers, with shares of Royal Bank of
Scotland Group PLC (RBS) up 4.7%, Barclays PLC (BCS) rising 2.1%
and heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) 0.7% higher.
On a more downbeat note, shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK)
lost 2.5% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reportedly
issued draft guidance that could lead to approval of generic
versions of the pharma firm's blockbuster drug Advair.
Additionally, Citigroup cut the drug maker to neutral from buy
after a period of outperformance. Instead, the analysts said they
favor buy-rated Novartis AG and Roche Holding AG in Europe and
buy-rated Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE)
among the U.S. majors.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires