Britain's blue chip stock index closed up for the sixth day in a row on Friday, led by miners and boosted by signs of strength in the US economy that outweighed broader worries about a global credit squeeze.
The banking sector, most likely to suffer from such a liquidity crunch, restrained gains. Barclays lost 2.6 percent on market talk that a consortium led by RBS may lower its bid for ABN Amro.
After the market closed, sources close to several members of the consortium told Reuters there was nothing to the talk. Overall, the FTSE 100 gained 0.37 percent or 23.2 points to close at 6,220.1. It lifted the index around 2.6 percent for the week, or some 6.2 percent since hitting a closing low for the year on August 16.
Shares spent much of the day in choppy trade as investors struggled with concerns about a tightening flow of money within the global financial system. But robust US data in the afternoon session put things on a positive course.
"We had the durable goods orders that were much stronger than expected and also the new homes sales were up," said Euan Stirling, investment director for UK equities at Standard Life Investments. "(That was) helpful in terms of sentiment," he said.
Sales of new single-family US homes unexpectedly rose in July and new orders for durable goods posted strong gains. Investors have been concerned that problems in the US mortgage sector could spill over into the US economy and hence across borders.
Oil and mining stocks contributed 23 points to the index's gain as copper and crude prices rose. BP gained 1.1 percent, while Royal Dutch Shell closed up 1.6 percent and gas producer BG Group advanced 2.7 percent. Rio Tinto added 2.4 percent and Xstrata rose 1.8 percent.
Business software maker Sage was top percentage gainer, rising 3.2 percent, boosted by a Merrill upgrade to "buy", traders said. But worries about global credit kept financials back. Asia-focused Standard Chartered was the top loser in Europe, down 4.9 percent, hit by market worries over a structured investment vehicle (SIV) sponsored by the bank and by turmoil in Asia, after top Asian banks revealed large exposure to the US subprime mortgage crisis.
StanChart said Whistlejacket Capital, an SIV created by the bank's structured credit investments team, was triple-A rated and its exposure was limited to its investment in the fund of around $250 million.
Merrill Lynch's removal of StanChart from its preferred list of banks also weighed on the stock. HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock and Alliance & Leicester were all down. Hedge fund group Man Group shed 2.6 percent, while private equity firm 3i Group was the second-biggest loser on the benchmark, falling 4.3 percent. The UK stock market will be closed on Monday for a public holiday. The trading will resume on Tuesday.
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