Resources and Property Stocks Lift UK Indexes, Experian, Land Securities Up

Arjun Dave
18 May, 2011
New York City

UK stocks traded higher after commodities gained and real estate sector stocks advanced. Land Securities said pre-tax annual net rose 15%. Fashion apparel retailer FCUK said first quarter sales rose 3.6%.

[R]3:00 PM London – UK stocks traded higher after commodities gained and real estate sector stocks advanced. Land Securities said pre-tax annual net rose 15%. Fashion apparel retailer FCUK said first quarter sales rose 3.6%.[/R]

UK stocks increased after resources linked stocks and commodities gained and European markets advanced. The latest minutes of meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in May showed a split in the voting.

FTSE 100 index increased 56.51 to 5,917.51 and All Share index gained 26.44 to 3,081.96.

CAC 40 index increased 0.7% or 18.47 to 3,975.45 and DAX 30 index gained 39.99 or 0.6% to 7,296.24. Indexes in Milan and Madrid edged up a fraction.

European markets inched higher as European Union officials launch an offensive and said restructuring Greek debt is not an option.

The EU officials began an aggressive campaign after the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that unless Greece accelerates its reforms any additional funds will not deliver desired results.

Seasonally adjusted construction activities in March decreased 0.3% in euro area and rose 1.9% in the EU27 compared to a month ago. In February, activities in EU area decreased 0.8% and rose 1.4% in the wider EU27 region.

Bank of Spain reported bad loan ratio declined to 6.11% in March from 6.20 in February when it reached the peak last seen since September 1995.

The bad loans measure included loans issued by all banks, financial cooperatives and retail credit cards declined to €1.069 billion to €111.511 billion in March.

Stock Movers

Of the most active stocks, Land Securities Group increased 6.4% to 795 pence, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp increased 4.5% to 843 pence, British Land Co added 4.5% to 604 pence and Hammerson edged up 3.2% to 478.90 pence.

Of the most active stocks, Sainsbury declined 3.6% to 342 pence followed by Admiral Group with a loss of 2.3% to 1,697 pence, TUI Travel declined 1.8% to 239.50 pence and 3i Group decreased 1.3% to 290.20 pence.

Experian declined 0.5% to 796.50 pence after credit score reporting company reported revenues in the fiscal year ending in March increased 7.7% to $4.2 billion.

Revenues increased 7% in North America and soared 19% in Latin American and 7% in Europe and 2% in the UK.

Earnings per share declined to 57.9 cents from 59 cents a share and profit before tax increased to $679 million from $600 million.

French Connection Group declined 4.25 pence to 92.50 pence after the apparel retailer said sales in the quarter to March increased 3.6%. Comparable sales in Europe and UK declined 1.8%

Real estate stocks gained after Land Securities reported 15% increased in full-year pre-tax profit. The news of earnings listed British Land and Hammerson.