By Clare Hutchison, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British stocks finished higher on
Thursday, with insurance companies lifting the market and U.S.
labor figures also boosting investor confidence.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to finish at 5,400.9.
The benchmark index fell 2.3% in the previous session as
declining commodity prices drove down mining and resource
stocks.
"The point move has probably been nudged along by better than
expected job figures from the U.S., to give a reasonable
performance," said Richard Hunter, head of U.K. equities at
Hargreaves Lansdown PLC.
The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits
fell by 19,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 366,000, putting
claims at the lowest level since May 2008.
Insurance providers boosted the FTSE on Thursday. Old Mutual PLC
rallied 11.4% after its management announced that it planned to
sell its Nordic business unit for £2.1 billion ($2.7
billion). Legal & General Group climbed 2.7% and Standard Life
PLC increased by 2.4%.
Industrial engineering stocks gained ground, with Weir Group PLC
adding 3.9% and IMI PLC gaining 1.6%.
The financial sector also advanced on Thursday. Investec PLC
increased by 2.9% and Man Group PLC rose 2.7%.
Only 12 firms posted losses on Thursday, led by Resolution Ltd.
. Shares in the company slid 2.1%.
Some oil companies finished lower. Cairn Energy PLC dropped 1.6%
and Tullow Oil PLC fell 0.9% . BG Group PLC also dipped 0.9%.
