By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) ? Shares of the engineering group GKN PLC soared on deal news in London, leading gainers in a slightly higher market Thursday, as investors awaited word on potential economic stimulus from the Bank of England.
The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX +0.57% ?rise 0.2% to 5,693.85, following a slightly lower close the prior day. Like several major European bourses, the U.K. index halted a three-day winning streak Wednesday.
/conga/story/2012/06/euro_zone_crisis.html 215040GKN /quotes/zigman/287711 UK:GKN +13.08% ?soared 12% after announcing it had bought Volvo Aero for 633 million pounds ($988 million) in a bid to boost its aerospace-engine-components business.
Among other U.K. heavyweights, shares of BP PLC /quotes/zigman/210014 UK:BP +1.72% /quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp BP +0.29% ?jumped 1.7%.
Investors are awaiting the outcome of the Bank of England?s two-day monetary-policy meeting, with the central bank widely expected to increase the size of its quantitative-easing program by ?50 billion ($78.3 billion). That decision is due at 7 a.m. Eastern time, with the European Central Bank?s decision on tap at 7:45 a.m. Eastern and a press conference with ECB President Mario Draghi beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. See: Focus on deposit rate as ECB ponders cut.
Among other gainers, shares of Aviva PLC /quotes/zigman/153201 UK:AV +3.16% ?rose 2.8% after the insurer announced a revised strategic plan, with key management changes, and said it wouldn?t issue new equity.
Miners Xstrata PLC /quotes/zigman/300486 UK:XTA +4.93% ?and Glencore International PLC /quotes/zigman/5131911 UK:GLEN +3.26% ?rose 2.6% and 1.5%, respectively. Xstrata said Thursday it is seeking to adjourn shareholder meetings scheduled to approve its merger with Glencore.
Retailer Marks & Spencer Group PLC /quotes/zigman/298234 UK:MKS +1.64% ?added its name to the gainer list, up over 1%.
Ex-Barclays CEO Diamond grilled
U.K. lawmakers grilled former Barclays CEO Robert Diamond for three hours about what he knew about the rating-fixing scandal that led to his resignation earlier this week.
On the downside, utilities were in a weak spot, with Centrica PLC /quotes/zigman/357817 UK:CNA -1.07% ?and United Utilities Group PLC /quotes/zigman/514680 UK:UU -0.97% ?each off around 1.3%. Goldman Sachs cut Centrica to neutral, removing it from the conviction buy list, citing a weaker near-term earnings-per-share outlook due to lower commodity prices, and with a reference to share prices elsewhere in the sector.
Banks were marginally lower, with Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC -0.06% ? /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS -2.14% ?down 0.5% a day after ex?Chief Executive Officer Bob Diamond testified in front of the U.K. Parliament, sidestepping questions about how it?s possible he wasn?t aware of attempted manipulation of the Libor rate. He also deflected questions onto other banks and questioned the integrity of the rate-setting mechanism overall.
/quotes/zigman/3173262
UK : FTSE Indices
Volume: 0.00
July 5, 2012 12:01p
/quotes/zigman/287711 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 11.17M
July 5, 2012 12:01p
Rev. per Employee?155,613
/quotes/zigman/210014 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 8.68M
July 5, 2012 12:01p
Market Cap?82.40 billion
/quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 4.14M
July 3, 2012 1:00p
Market Cap$129.19 billion
/quotes/zigman/153201 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 5.58M
July 5, 2012 12:01p
/quotes/zigman/300486 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 3.47M
July 5, 2012 12:01p
Market Cap?24.21 billion
Rev. per Employee?523,200
/quotes/zigman/5131911 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 4.98M
July 5, 2012 12:01p
Market Cap?21.03 billion
/quotes/zigman/298234 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 1.49M
July 5, 2012 12:01p
Rev. per Employee?122,332
/quotes/zigman/357817 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 2.82M
July 5, 2012 12:00p
Market Cap?16.51 billion
Rev. per Employee?578,819
/quotes/zigman/514680 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 512,458
July 5, 2012 12:00p
Rev. per Employee?307,084
/quotes/zigman/301787 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 22.45M
July 5, 2012 12:01p
Market Cap?20.44 billion
Rev. per Employee?305,514
/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 13.33M
July 3, 2012 1:01p
Rev. per Employee$487,429
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
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