By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) ? Banks led U.K. stocks higher on Wednesday after a ratings upgrade, while investors also digested minutes from the Bank of England?s latest policy meeting.
The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX +0.43% ?climbed 0.4% to close at 5,961.59, extending gains into a second straight day.
UBS settles its Libor claims
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Banking shares posted the biggest gains in the index. Credit Suisse lifted the European banking sector to benchmark from small underweight, saying the lower cost of capital should make it easier to reach required profitability levels.
Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC /quotes/zigman/126322 UK:LLOY +4.37% jumped 4.4%, while Royal Bank of Scotland Group /quotes/zigman/10330253 UK:RBS +3.38% ? /quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs RBS +0.89% ?rose 3.4%. Sector heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/13843 UK:HSBA +2.00% ? /quotes/zigman/207333/quotes/nls/hbc HBC +1.07% ? /quotes/zigman/13834 HK:5 +0.50% ?added 2% and Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC +2.07% ? /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS +0.88% ?rose 2.1%.
Investors also considered minutes from the Bank of England?s latest policy meeting, which showed near unanimity on the policy-setting committee for leaving the central bank?s asset-purchase program unchanged. See: Only one BOE policy maker wanted larger QE in December.
Almost all members of the Bank of England voted to keep its asset-purchase program unchanged, minutes from the latest meeting show.Among other notable movers, shares of CRH PLC /quotes/zigman/170487 UK:CRH +4.88% ?gained 5%, as Deutsche Bank lifted the construction-material firm to buy from hold.
?Although the still subdued performance of CRH?s European markets should weigh down group volume growth in 2013, we believe that the decline in euro-area sovereign risk and its gradual positive impact on sentiment should cause the stock to rerate,? Deutsche Bank said.
Energy shares mostly gained, as crude-oil futures moved higher.
Shares of Tullow Oil PLC /quotes/zigman/271296 UK:TLW +0.66% and BP PLC /quotes/zigman/210014 UK:BP +0.67% ?? /quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp BP +0.21% ?both rose 0.7%. See: Barclays bullish on oil-services sector for 2013 and beyond
Shares of Diageo PLC /quotes/zigman/208874 UK:DGE +0.49% ?gained 0.5% and SABMiller PLC /quotes/zigman/244740 UK:SAB +0.76% ?gained 0.8%. Credit Suisse raised the beverage sector to overweight from benchmark, citing strong growth prospects and emerging-market exposure.
On a more downbeat note, shares of British American Tobacco PLC /quotes/zigman/218491 UK:BATS -2.55% ? /quotes/zigman/233120/quotes/nls/bti BTI -2.62% ?slid 2.6%, after the bank cut the tobacco sector to underweight from benchmark, citing worries over plain-packaging laws among other things.
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC /quotes/zigman/167179 UK:IMT -0.87% ?fell 0.9%. See: Big Tobacco braces for packaging ban
/quotes/zigman/3173262
UK : FTSE Indices
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
/quotes/zigman/126322 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 173.20M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?33.20 billion
Rev. per Employee?360,302
/quotes/zigman/10330253 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 13.48M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?34.08 billion
Rev. per Employee?229,355
/quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 495,978
Dec. 19, 2012 4:06p
Rev. per Employee$363,431
/quotes/zigman/13843 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 24.28M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?118.61 billion
Rev. per Employee?241,978
/quotes/zigman/207333/quotes/nls/hbc US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 2.37M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:06p
Market Cap$192.70 billion
Rev. per Employee$377,633
/quotes/zigman/13834 HK : Hong Kong
Volume: 10.19M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:01p
Market CapHK$1493.42 billion
Rev. per EmployeeHK$2.96M
/quotes/zigman/301787 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 53.36M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?31.97 billion
Rev. per Employee?276,634
/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 4.65M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:01p
Rev. per Employee$437,826
/quotes/zigman/170487 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 2.68M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Rev. per Employee?204,858
/quotes/zigman/271296 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 2.60M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?11.07 billion
/quotes/zigman/210014 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 28.72M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?81.66 billion
/quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 6.44M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:02p
Market Cap$132.68 billion
/quotes/zigman/208874 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 3.70M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?45.84 billion
Rev. per Employee?418,787
/quotes/zigman/244740 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 1.70M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?52.53 billion
Rev. per Employee?177,714
/quotes/zigman/218491 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 6.63M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?61.31 billion
Rev. per Employee?175,521
/quotes/zigman/233120/quotes/nls/bti US : U.S.: NYSE Amex
Volume: 230,696
Dec. 19, 2012 4:00p
Rev. per Employee$280,386
/quotes/zigman/167179 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 2.64M
Dec. 19, 2012 4:35p
Market Cap?23.82 billion
Rev. per Employee?394,409
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/marketwatch/financial/~3/Woz6ZirMdfU/story.asp
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