By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch Balfour Beatty rebuffs bid for
investment arm
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Friday as gains in most
sectors nudged the FTSE 100 toward a modest advance for the
week.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.8% to 6,730.46. Investors will next turn
to widely watched U.S. jobs data, due at 1:30 p.m. London Time,
with analysts expecting, on average, the creation of 235,000 jobs
in November.
In London trade, only the basic materials group was moving
lower, continuing a painful run of losses as companies tackle
issues ranging from oversupply, slowing demand and falling prices.
Miner Randgold Resources Ltd. fell 2.2% and oil-services firm
Petrofac Ltd. slumped 2.1%, with those shares poised for a weekly
loss of 6%.
Iron-ore heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) shed 1% and Tullow Oil
PLC fell 1.6%.
Intertek Group PLC was one of the best performers. Its shares
were up 3.2%. UBS raised the product-testing and certification
company to a buy rating from neutral, citing "attractive
risk/reward with M&A providing further upside optionality."
Shares of aerospace equipment maker Meggitt PLC were also up
3.2%, boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Investec.
The FTSE 100 was looking at a weekly gain of 0.1%.
Topping the FTSE 250 index , Balfour Beatty PLC shares jumped 5%
after the construction-services company turned down a 1 billion
pound ($1.57 billion) bid from John Laing Infrastructure Fund for
its public-private portfolio.
The FTSE 100 on Thursday lost 0.6%, falling alongside the
broader European stock market after the European Central Bank
decided to hold off on expanding stimulus measures for the
struggling eurozone.
But a Bloomberg report late Thursday raised fresh hopes about
European Central Bank stimulus plans, as it said the central bank
expects to consider a proposal for broad-based asset purchases in
January.
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