By Clare Hutchison, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) ? British stocks moved mostly higher on Wednesday as trading resumed following an extended holiday break.
The FTSE 100 /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX +0.56% ?rose 0.6% to 5,543.57.
Sears to close up to 120 stores
Sears will close about 120 stores in a bid to revitalize its business. The shares fell 27% in reaction. Photo: Getty Images
The benchmark index climbed 1% in Friday?s session, claiming its first weekly gain in three weeks. London markets were closed Monday and Tuesday.
Retail giant Tesco PLC /quotes/zigman/156634 UK:TSCO +2.43% ?gained 2.6% on Wednesday. Competitors J Sainsbury PLC /quotes/zigman/350043 UK:SBRY +0.54% ?and Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC /quotes/zigman/155311 UK:MRW +0.50% ?were also up, adding 0.8% and 0.6% respectively.
Media reports suggest the retail sector has been boosted by post-Christmas shopping as bargain hunters rushed back to the U.K.?s high streets to snap up heavily discounted goods.
Tobacco higher, oil off
Gains for tobacco firms lifted the market. British American Tobacco PLC /quotes/zigman/218491 UK:BATS +2.22% ?was up 2.2%, while Imperial Tobacco Group PLC /quotes/zigman/167179 UK:IMT +1.88% ?advanced 1.8%.
Beverage makers opened strongly for the second day running, with Diageo PLC /quotes/zigman/208874 UK:DGE +1.59% ?adding 1.6% and SABMiller PLC /quotes/zigman/244740 UK:SAB +1.30% ?climbing 1.4%.
Television company ITV PLC /quotes/zigman/337392 UK:ITV +3.26% ?was the biggest climber, adding 3.3% on Wednesday.
Oil companies suffered in early trade as crude oil prices dipped. Nymex crude fell 63 cents to trade at $100.71 a barrel.
/quotes/zigman/7218774 EVR 378.50, -13.90, -3.54%AMEC PLC /quotes/zigman/152048 UK:AMEC -0.61% ?and Petrofac Ltd. /quotes/zigman/391992 UK:PFC -1.24% ?declined 0.3% and 1.2% respectively.
Most of Britain?s major banks pulled back on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC /quotes/zigman/126322 UK:LLOY -1.52% ? /quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg LYG -0.65% ?shed 1.2%, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC lost 1.5% /quotes/zigman/155978 UK:RBS -1.76% ? /quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs RBS -1.08% ?, and Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC -1.84% ? /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS -1.77% ?was down 1.4%.
HSBC Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/13843 UK:HSBA +0.58% ?and Standard Chartered PLC /quotes/zigman/22532 UK:STAN +1.58% ?bucked the trend. Shares in HSBC increased by 0.8% and Standard Chartered rose 1.9%.
Shares in International Consolidated Airlines Group SA /quotes/zigman/3670411 UK:IAG -1.19% ?fell 1.3% a day ahead of a walkout by pilots from the company?s Iberia airline. Media reports estimate the strike action could see 36% of flights cancelled.
Mining firm Evraz PLC /quotes/zigman/7218774 UK:EVR -3.54% ?fell 3.8% after the company announced the closing of a credit facility for its U.S. and Canadian subsidiaries.
Other mining stocks lost ground after copper prices fell in London, as investors reacted to Japanese data that showed factory output has slowed in the country.
Xstrata PLC /quotes/zigman/300486 UK:XTA -1.06% ?dropped 0.9%, while Glencore International PLC /quotes/zigman/5131911 UK:GLEN -0.87% ?shares fell 0.8%.
Outside the benchmark, London Stock Exchange Group PLC /quotes/zigman/409946 UK:LSE +0.57% ?shares gained 0.8%. The exchange reported Wednesday that fiscal 2012 first-half pretax profit rose 79%.
/quotes/zigman/3173262
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/156634 Volume: 5.97M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/350043 Volume: 707,119
Dec. 28, 2011 1:07p
/quotes/zigman/155311 Volume: 1.73M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/218491 Volume: 1.02M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/167179 Volume: 347,198
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/208874 Volume: 1.06M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:06p
/quotes/zigman/244740 Volume: 327,385
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/337392 Volume: 3.24M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:07p
/quotes/zigman/152048 Volume: 218,230
Dec. 28, 2011 1:07p
/quotes/zigman/391992 Volume: 213,336
Dec. 28, 2011 1:04p
/quotes/zigman/126322 Volume: 35.81M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg Volume: 2.05M
Dec. 27, 2011 4:02p
/quotes/zigman/155978 Volume: 16.15M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs Volume: 234,476
Dec. 27, 2011 4:01p
/quotes/zigman/301787 Volume: 7.90M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs Volume: 2.95M
Dec. 27, 2011 4:01p
/quotes/zigman/13843 Volume: 9.46M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/22532 Volume: 902,250
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/3670411 Volume: 1.43M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:03p
/quotes/zigman/7218774 Volume: 526,575
Dec. 28, 2011 1:08p
/quotes/zigman/300486 Volume: 2.39M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:07p
/quotes/zigman/5131911 Volume: 1.15M
Dec. 28, 2011 1:06p
/quotes/zigman/409946 Volume: 78,102
Dec. 28, 2011 1:03p
Clare Hutchison is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B402f92b2-3132-11e1-80df-002128040cf6%7D&siteid=rss
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