By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks climbed Wednesday, with J
Sainsbury PLC shares gaining after a trading update from the
supermarket-chain operator.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to 6,407.22, with retail stocks moving
higher, led by a 4.2% rise in Sainsbury shares. The company posted
a 1.7% decline in fiscal third-quarter same-store sales, excluding
fuel, but the decline was better than expectations for a drop of
about 3%. The period included the key Christmas season.
Other retail stocks rose, with Tesco PLC shares up 2.8%.
Britain's largest supermarket chain is due to release a trading
update on Thursday. Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC pushed 2.4%
higher, and Marks & Spencer PLC added 2.2%.
Aggreko PLC shares rose 3.3% as the temporary-power provider
said it sees a small increase in 2014 profit after it won a
two-year contract in Argentina and extended an existing contract
with the same customer by two years.
Most energy shares managed to move higher as Brent oil dipped
below $50 a barrel for the first time since 2009, but Tullow Oil
PLC was off 0.1% and energy-engineering firm Weir Group PLC fell
1.2%. Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell PLC turned 0.3% higher. The oil
company has agreed to pay about $80 million to compensate a
Nigerian community for damage from two oil spills in 2008.
Elsewhere, Persimmon shares rose 0.3% following the home
builder's report that it sold 17% more homes at higher prices in
2014.
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