By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks opened on stronger footing
Tuesday, with strength coming in part from the key mining
sector.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% to 6,845.11. The benchmark ended
Monday's session with a 0.1% gain.
Tuesday's advancers included Rio Tinto PLC and BHP Billiton PLC
(BHP) , with their shares rising 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively.
An upside "production surprise" looks to be in store at the
Escondida copper mine in Chile, in which BHP has a 57.5% stake and
Rio Tinto has a 30% stake, said Deutsche Bank in a Monday note. A
strategy to run three plants at the mine may be adopted by the
companies in 2015, holding the potential to increase earnings at
BHP and Rio Tinto by 2% to 3% in the next couple of years, said
Deutsche.
On the FTSE 100, tech, industrial and consumer issues were
higher.
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