By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Monday, as the last
week of trade in 2014 got under way with gains for miners, as well
as for Royal Mail PLC after the demise of a rival parcel
company.
The FTSE 100 index ticked up 0.3% to 6,627.30, and a win Monday
would be the index's eighth in a row. The index held to the gain as
broader European stock markets fell, hurt by political and
financial uncertainty in Greece after a parliamentary vote left the
country facing a snap general election next year.
The upcoming Greek election "will raise fresh fears over the
fate of the eurozone and the timelines for the possible
implementation of a European version of quantitative easing," said
Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG, in a blog posting. The
eurozone is the U.K.'s largest trading partner.
Running to the top of the FTSE 100 on Monday was Royal Mail , up
4.6% following the collapse of rival parcel-delivery company City
Link. Royal Mail appears interested in taking on some of the large
customer contracts held by City Link, Sky News reported Saturday.
KMPG held preliminary talks with Royal Mail and DX Group PLC in an
effort to find a buyer for City Link, the report said.
Roughly 3,700 jobs may be lost as a result of City Link's
collapse, reports said.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were higher after being hit in recent
weeks on lower prices for metals and concerns about oversupply in
the iron-ore market. Shares of iron-ore producer BHP Billiton PLC
(BHP) picked up 2.7%, copper producer Fresnillo PLC gained 3.7%,
and Anglo American PLC rose 2.8%.
Smith & Nephew PLC shares were up 1.5%, extending their 7.7%
jump on Christmas Eve, after a Bloomberg report that U.S.
surgical-implants maker Stryker Corp. (SYK) is preparing to make a
takeover offer.
Turning higher were shares of Tesco PLC , by 1.2%. Analysis from
pension consultant John Ralfe shows the supermarket chain may have
to inject 300 million pounds ($467.4 million) into its employees'
pension plan for the next 10 years, the Guardian reported over the
weekend.
Decliners on Monday included travel stocks, with easyJet PLC
down 2%, TUI AG off 1.2% and IAG lower by 0.6%.
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