By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Burberry Group PLC topped the
U.K. index on Wednesday after an upbeat earnings report, while the
broader market showed positive moves after a global-growth upgrade
from the World Bank.
The FTSE 100 index added 0.3% to 6,788.86, setting it on a track
for a fourth straight day of gains.
Burberry rallied (BURBY) 6.1%, eyeing its best daily performance
in more than a year, after the luxury-goods firm reported a 14%
rise in retail revenue in the third quarter. The results were
buoyed by its Chinese operations and a shift toward online
sales.
Most other stocks in the U.K. benchmark were also on the rise
after the World Bank said it expects the global economy to expand
by 3.2% in 2014, up from an earlier estimate of 3% growth. For 2015
and 2016, the institution expects expansion rates of 3.4% and 3.5%
respectively.
Banks posted some of the biggest gains, rising alongside the
broader European financial sector. Shares of Lloyds Banking Group
PLC (LYG) added 1.3%, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) gained
1.3% and Barclays PLC (BCS) picked up 1.1%.
Mining firms were also gaining, with shares of Anglo American
PLC up 3.5% after UBS lifted the firm to buy from neutral. Shares
of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) put on 0.8% and Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF)
added 0.6%.
Bucking the positive trend in London, shares of Centrica PLC
dropped 3.4% after Barclays cut the utility firm to underweight
from equal weight. Barclays also downgraded electric-utility firm
SSE PLC to underweight from overweight. The analysts said they see
ongoing cost pressures for both companies and little scope for a
rise in energy prices before the next British general election,
expected in 2015.
Unilever PLC (UL) lost 1.2% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut the
food producer to underweight from neutral on worries of continued
"pressure on earnings as top-line woes should be coupled with
margin pressure."
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