The U.K.?s FTSE 100 index continued to rise on after two straight weekly gains, with shares of Randgold Resources rallying after a production update and Hargreaves Lansdown rising after a broker upgrade.
The benchmark index nudged up 0.1% to close at 6,836.73, after swinging between small gains and losses throughout the session.
The index was partly lifted by news that the International Monetary Fund?plans to raise its outlook on the U.K.?this week to growth of 2.4% in 2014 from an earlier estimate of 1.9%, according to Sky News. A representative from the IMF wasn?t immediately available to comment.
Euro-zone PMIs are expected to show continued national divergence, with growth for Germany, but a deeper decline in France?s manufacturing sector. U.K. monetary policy will also be on the agenda with the release of BOE minutes and unemployment data.
Among notable advancers, shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. rallied 5.8% after the gold miner said its Kibali gold mine ?has more than met the objectives set for it at the time of its acquisition in September 2009.?
Hargreaves Lansdown PLC climbed 3.9% after Credit Suisse lifted the investment manager to neutral from underperform.
On a more downbeat note, shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC lost 1.3% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut the bank to underweight from neutral.
For the broader sector, the analysts said they believe ?U.K. bank shares will continue to face opposing forces in 2014: improving domestic earnings but an uncertain regulatory environment.?
Because their capital requirements may not be clear until the final quarter of the year, ?visibility over normalized earnings may be lower for U.K. banks relative to the EU sector,? they added.
Other banks also moved lower, with shares of Barclays PLC down 2% and HSBC Holdings?0.7% lower.
Among other movers in London, shares of Burberry Group PLC gave up 1% after Credit Suisse cut the luxury-goods firm to neutral from outperform. The analysts said they now think Burberry?s ?superior top-line momentum is unlikely to translate into superior earnings growth versus its luxury peers over the next two years? and said they prefer Cie.
Source MarketWatch
