By David Brett
LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Financials led Britain's FTSE
100 share index to a 21
month high by midday on Friday, after Lloyds Banking Group said it would return to profitability in 2010, while some defensives lagged.
By 1134 GMT the FTSE 100 index was up 32.43 points at 5,675.05, having closed almost unchanged in the previous session.
The market extended gains after the 'quadruple witching' expiries of futures and options contracts.
Banks were the biggest gainers, having slipped on Thursday, with Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland up 2.2 to 5.9 pct.
Bailed-out British lender Lloyds Banking Group said it would return to profitability in 2010 after two years of heavy losses, helped by lower than expected bad debts and tight cost controls. Its shares rose 9.3 percent.
ICAP added 1.3 percent, lifted by talk that the inter-dealer broker might be close to finding a buyer for its cash equities business, traders said.
The world's largest listed hedge fund Man Group and fund firm Schroders each climbed 2 percent.
Resolution rose 1.4 percent. Deutsche Bank kept its 'hold' rating and cut its target price on the firm, but said results next week cast a spotlight on an 'unreasonably cheap valuation'.
Life insurers were also firmer, with Aviva gaining 0.3 percent after Aviva Investors, its asset management arm, said it plans to expand in the Asia-Pacific region by hiring bond and equity fund managers in Singapore and setting up a sales offices in Japan.
Peers Legal & General and Prudential added 1.3 and 0.7 percent, respectively.
COMMODITY SUPPORT
Energy shares were high up on investors' wanted lists. BP , BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell rose 0.3 and 0.8 percent respectively.
Australia's Arrow Energy asked for trading in its shares to be suspended, stoking speculation that Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina would sweeten their joint $3 billion offer for the coal-seam gas producer.
Oil explorer Tullow Oil was up 0.1 percent, helped by a target price hike from RBS.
Miners rebounded from Thursday's falls, underpinned by firmer metal prices. Eurasian Natural Resources Fresnillo, Kazakhmys, Xstrata and BHP Billiton rose 0.3 to 2 percent.
Among individual movers, British Airways put on 0.9 percent on hopes that the Unite union's last-ditch talks with BA's management will lead to a strike by cabin crew this weekend being averted.
Defensive stocks were prevalent among the list of fallers on the FTSE. Utilities Centrica, Severn Trent and National Grid fell 0.9-1.1 percent, while British American Tobacco was down 0.4 percent.
Energy suppliers International Power and Scottish and Southern Energy shed 1.0 and 0.7 percent respectively.
No significant economic data is scheduled for release on Friday, either in the UK or the United States.
(Editing by Rupert Winchester) Keywords: MARKETS BRITAIN STOCKS (david.brett@thomsonreuters.com. +44 20 7542 8099) Reuters Messaging: david.brett.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Financials led Britain's FTSE
100 share index to a 21
month high by midday on Friday, after Lloyds Banking Group said it would return to profitability in 2010, while some defensives lagged.
By 1134 GMT the FTSE 100 index was up 32.43 points at 5,675.05, having closed almost unchanged in the previous session.
The market extended gains after the 'quadruple witching' expiries of futures and options contracts.
Banks were the biggest gainers, having slipped on Thursday, with Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland up 2.2 to 5.9 pct.
Bailed-out British lender Lloyds Banking Group said it would return to profitability in 2010 after two years of heavy losses, helped by lower than expected bad debts and tight cost controls. Its shares rose 9.3 percent.
ICAP added 1.3 percent, lifted by talk that the inter-dealer broker might be close to finding a buyer for its cash equities business, traders said.
The world's largest listed hedge fund Man Group and fund firm Schroders each climbed 2 percent.
Resolution rose 1.4 percent. Deutsche Bank kept its 'hold' rating and cut its target price on the firm, but said results next week cast a spotlight on an 'unreasonably cheap valuation'.
Life insurers were also firmer, with Aviva gaining 0.3 percent after Aviva Investors, its asset management arm, said it plans to expand in the Asia-Pacific region by hiring bond and equity fund managers in Singapore and setting up a sales offices in Japan.
Peers Legal & General and Prudential added 1.3 and 0.7 percent, respectively.
COMMODITY SUPPORT
Energy shares were high up on investors' wanted lists. BP , BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell rose 0.3 and 0.8 percent respectively.
Australia's Arrow Energy asked for trading in its shares to be suspended, stoking speculation that Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina would sweeten their joint $3 billion offer for the coal-seam gas producer.
Oil explorer Tullow Oil was up 0.1 percent, helped by a target price hike from RBS.
Miners rebounded from Thursday's falls, underpinned by firmer metal prices. Eurasian Natural Resources Fresnillo, Kazakhmys, Xstrata and BHP Billiton rose 0.3 to 2 percent.
Among individual movers, British Airways put on 0.9 percent on hopes that the Unite union's last-ditch talks with BA's management will lead to a strike by cabin crew this weekend being averted.
Defensive stocks were prevalent among the list of fallers on the FTSE. Utilities Centrica, Severn Trent and National Grid fell 0.9-1.1 percent, while British American Tobacco was down 0.4 percent.
Energy suppliers International Power and Scottish and Southern Energy shed 1.0 and 0.7 percent respectively.
No significant economic data is scheduled for release on Friday, either in the UK or the United States.
(Editing by Rupert Winchester) Keywords: MARKETS BRITAIN STOCKS (david.brett@thomsonreuters.com. +44 20 7542 8099) Reuters Messaging: david.brett.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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