FTSE 100 index up 0.8%; Prudential, other insurers also climb
By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- London shares climbed for the second straight session on Thursday, with miners in the lead as investors continued to hope that the global economy is past the worst.
The U.K. FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 4,766, +49.01, +1.04%) climbed 0.8% to 4,753.26, moving higher for the second time this week.
Other European shares also advanced while U.S. stocks looked set to build on gains made in the previous session after the latest Federal Reserve monetary policy news. See Europe Markets.
After the European close on Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee promised again to keep interest rates exceptionally low "for an extended period of time," even as it drew encouragement from the stronger economic outlook. See full story.
Data out from Europe on Thursday chimed with the Fed's more optimistic view, with the economies of Germany and France each growing a surprisingly strong 0.3% in the second quarter when compared to the first. See full story.
London-listed miners climbed on Thursday, buoyed by perceptions of growing demand for metals in a stronger economy, with BHP Billiton (UK:BLT 1,603, +47.50, +3.05%) (BHP 63.20, +1.29, +2.08%) shares up 3%, Eurasian Natural Resources (UK:ENRC 796.50, +33.50, +4.39%) up 4.4% and Lonmin shares up 4.9%.
Platinum futures climbed $19.70 to $1,264.10 an ounce and copper futures climbed 6 cents to $2.88 a pound.
"[The] Fed comments have led to a sharp rise in copper prices as markets become more optimistic about demand," said analysts at FairfaxIS Investment Bank.
Of mining companies updating investors on Thursday, Anglo American (UK:AAL 1,948, +82.50, +4.42%) shares climbed 4.1% after it completed the sale of 51.2 million shares in South Africa's Tongaat Hulett, raising $523 million.
Rio Tinto (UK:RIO 2,422, +109.00, +4.71%) (RTP 155.83, +0.88, +0.57%) shares rose 3.9%.
The metals giant said that it's taking its U.S. unit, Cloud Peak Energy Inc., to market in an initial public offering that would represent most of the Anglo-Australian miner's Western U.S. assets and will be valued at $500 million.
Away from miners and insurer Prudential (UK:PRU 515.00, +37.70, +7.88%) (PUK 15.87, +0.51, +3.32%) advanced 4.8%.
On a European embedded value accounting basis, operating profit dropped 8% to 1.25 billion pounds, but was still ahead of the 1.16 billion pound consensus forecast from a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts.
Sales declined in Asia and the U.K., but increased at its U.S. Jackson business. Net inflows at its M&G investment management unit were 8.6 billion pounds.
Other insurance firms on the move included Aviva (UK:AV. 380.10, +10.20, +2.76%) , up 3% and Legal & General (UK:LGEN 66.20, +0.93, +1.42%) , up 1.1%.
On the downside, shares of travel company Thomas Cook Group (UK:TCG 218.40, -11.60, -5.04%) fell 6.1%.
Thomas Cook said the target it set in 2007 for operating profit to reach 480 million pounds in 2010 is not realistic given the current state of the economy, but added it is well placed to achieve the market's consensus expectations for 2010.
Excluding 107.3 million pounds of costs largely related to integrating acquired businesses as well as a 12.6 million pound charge related to the swine flu outbreak, Thomas Cook said its nine-month operating loss narrowed to 49.5 million pounds from 87.4 million pounds.
Its net loss widened slightly to 175.6 million pounds ($290 million) from 174 million pounds a year earlier, while revenue grew 10.7% to 5.85 billion pounds.
