By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Burberry Group PLC were among
top gainers in the U.K. index on Wednesday after an upbeat trading
update, while the broader market showed positive moves after a
global-growth upgrade from the World Bank.
The FTSE 100 index added 0.8% to close at 6,819.86, posting a
gain for a fourth-straight day.
Burberry rallied (BURBY) 4.6%, after the luxury-goods firm
reported a 14% rise in retail revenue in the third quarter. The
results were buoyed by its Chinese operations and a shift toward
online sales.
Most other stocks in the U.K. benchmark were also on the rise
after the World Bank said it expects the global economy to expand
by 3.2% in 2014, up from an earlier estimate of 3% growth. For 2015
and 2016, the institution expects expansion rates of 3.4% and 3.5%
respectively.
Banks posted some of the biggest gains, rising alongside the
broader European financial sector. Shares of Lloyds Banking Group
PLC (LYG) added 1.1%, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS)gained
1.5% and Barclays PLC (BCS) picked up 1.6%.
Mining firms were also gaining, with shares of Anglo American
PLC up 5.5% after UBS lifted the firm to buy from neutral. Shares
of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) put on 2.7% and Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF)
added 0.7%.
Bucking the positive trend in London, shares of Centrica PLC
dropped 3.5% after Barclays cut the utility firm to underweight
from equal weight. Barclays also downgraded electric-utility firm
SSE PLC to underweight from overweight, sending the shares 2.2%
lower. The analysts said they see ongoing cost pressures for both
companies and little scope for a rise in energy prices before the
next British general election, expected in 2015.
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