By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British stocks headed north on Tuesday, with miners and oil firms in the lead, as hopes for further stimulus measures in China spurred a risk-on mood, offsetting ongoing concerns about the euro-area crisis.
The FTSE 100 index jumped 0.8% to 5,402.36.
Miners advanced the most in the index, as growth indications from China lured investors into the metals sector. Metals prices were also higher across the board, while Asian stocks rallied. Reports on Monday said that the National Development and Reform Commission has approved several new steel plants, prompting some analysts to suggest the country has kicked off fresh stimulus measures.
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) rose 2.4%, Vedanta Resources PLC added 2.3%, Anglo American PLC gained 1.8%, while BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) ticked 1.6% higher.
Oil firms were also on the rise, as oil prices moved up. Tullow Oil PLC rose 2.8% and BP PLC (BP) inched 0.3% higher. BG Group PLC took on 1.2% as it said is has agreed to sell its entire 60.1% stake in gas distributor Comgas for 3.4 billion Brazilian real in cash ($1.7 billion).
Bucking the positive trend in London, Wolseley PLC gave up 4.2% after highlighting weakness in the European market in its third-quarter results.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2012 04:53 ET (08:53 GMT)
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