By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares in supermarket giant Tesco PLC
were among the strongest performers on the U.K.'s benchmark index
Tuesday after the company posted a strong sales update, with
consumer-products company Unilever PLC also rising on the back of a
broker upgrade.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.6% to 5,805.47 as oil companies and
construction-related stocks also provided support.
Other European markets were also higher Tuesday, with Irish
stocks showing the strongest gains as analysts said the
government's budget plan is likely to scrape through a vote in
parliament.
Shares in Tesco rose 1.9% in London after the company said sales
in the latest quarter rose 8.2%, helped by strong growth for its
Asian and U.S. operations.
Jefferies International analyst James Grzinic said the figures
were "slightly better than anticipated," helped by a positive
impact from foreign-exchange rates and a strong performance from
the group's financial-services arm.
Unilever (UL) jumped 3% after Morgan Stanley lifted its rating
on the group by two notches to overweight from underweight.
Oil and mining stocks added to the gains, with BP PLC (BP)
rising 1.5%. The move came after reports that the firm could sell
some North Sea assets and that Pakistan's national oil firm has
asked for a deadline on bids for BP's assets in Pakistan to be
extended.
Higher metal prices helped lift shares of Lonmin PLC 1.1% and
Kazakhmys 2.6%.
Among smaller companies, shares in house builder Bellway PLC
rose 5.7% after the company said it expects pretax profit for the
fiscal year to rise 20%.
Wolseley , which supplies building materials and plumbing
products to contractors, was another climber, adding 3.5% on the
benchmark index after saying trading profit in its fiscal first
quarter rose 39% as demand improved in most countries.