London close: Economists wax optimistic on UK

8th Jul 2013 17:08

Stocks registered a solid gain on Monday on the back of an advance in the banking sector. That came on the heels of what some economists termed a solid jobs report last Friday Stateside and upwards revisions to growth forecasts for the UK. Leading gains were shares of Royal Bank of Scotland, as Chancellor George Osborne vowed to introduce strict new proposals to shake up the banking sector. More poignantly, various media reports suggested that there is keen interest amongst foreign investors in the stake in Lloyd's Banking Group which the Government is soon expected to offload. Although according to Reuters Singapore's sovereign wealth fund - Temasek - denied weekend reports that it had made a preliminary approach to the government the raft of positive endorsements received by the UK economy would seem to validate that there could well be something behind such market chatter, commented analysts at Digital Look. Thus, Barclays Research raised its 2013 forecast for gross domestic product growth in the UK to 1.1% from 0.9% before. Even more optimistically, economists at JP Morgan now see UK economic growth clocking in at 1.6% this year, up from the 1.2% previously projected.As well, the latest Business Trends report from accountants BDO showed Britain's business confidence reaching a 13-month high in June as companies increased output and job creation.Acting as a backdrop, sterling dropped to within a whisker of its 2012 lows versus the US dollar. FTSE 100: Foreign investors eye Lloyds Banks rallied on Monday, with Royal Bank of Scotland leading the race, as Chancellor George Osborne vowed to introduce strict new proposals to shake up the banking sector. Osborne said he would back the recommendations from Britain's Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, including rules that would see senior bankers face jail time and lose millions of pounds in bonuses if they are involved in a future banking collapse. Lloyd's Banking Group also moved higher following reports that former Standard Chartered Chairman Mervyn Davies planned to form a consortium of investors to bid for part of the UK government's 39% stake in the lender. Davies is said to have approached Standard Life and sovereign wealth funds about assembling a group to make an offer. Supermarket chains including Morrison Supermarkets, Marks & Spencer Group and Tesco were amongst the weakest issues throughout most of the day following a report on rising food poisoning cases linked to infected chicken in grocery stores. An estimated 580,000 people each year contract stomach bug campylobacter despite the government's food standards watchdog making the issue its number one priority, according to the Daily Mail.Smith & Nephew slumped following Friday's gain on the back of the health company's announcement it would purchase certain assets related to the distribution of its orthopaedic reconstruction, trauma and sports medicine products in Turkey, currently conducted through Plato Group.FTSE 250: Centamin braves news of social instability in EgyptShares of Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin approached important levels of technical resistance, braving news of dozens of deaths and hundreds of wounded as violence flared near the Republican Guard compound where deposed President Mohamed Mursi is believed to be held. The Muslim Brotherhood has urged people to rise up against the army, Reuters reports. Pharmaceutical group Hikma Pharmaceuticals topped the leaderboard after saying it expects revenue to grow by 17% in 2013 compared to its previous guidance of 13%.Bovis Homes Group gained after announcing its reservations in the first half were ahead of its expectations amid signs of a strong improvement in the housing market. Betfair Group retreated following reports that German lender Deutsche Bank was placing 11m shares of the online betting firm at a steep discount to the market price on behalf of Charlton Group.Balfour Beatty fell after Bank of Americaa downgraded the infrastructure group to a 'neutral' recommendation from 'buy', citing struggles in the company's earnings recovery next year.FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 288.80p +4.37%Fresnillo (FRES) 921.00p +3.89%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 67.10p +3.82%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 305.80p +3.80%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,170.00p +3.27%Schroders (SDR) 2,326.00p +2.92%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 932.00p +2.64%Aggreko (AGK) 1,773.00p +2.54%CRH (CRH) 1,348.00p +2.51%Aviva (AV.) 357.90p +2.46%FTSE 100 - FallersRexam (REX) 479.90p -0.66%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 459.70p -0.65%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 385.90p -0.36%SSE (SSE) 1,577.00p -0.13%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 755.50p -0.07%Centrica (CNA) 374.90p +0.03%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 855.00p +0.06%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,374.00p +0.07%Vodafone Group (VOD) 191.90p +0.08%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,738.00p +0.17%FTSE 250 - RisersCentamin (DI) (CEY) 38.36p +7.54%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 830.00p +7.10%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 343.00p +5.90%Alent (ALNT) 368.00p +5.63%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,050.00p +5.63%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 352.80p +5.53%Restaurant Group (RTN) 539.50p +4.35%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 759.00p +4.19%Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 354.00p +4.12%Henderson Group (HGG) 161.00p +4.07%FTSE 250 - FallersBetfair Group (BET) 840.00p -4.49%COLT Group SA (COLT) 102.00p -2.30%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 211.70p -1.95%BH Macro Ltd. USD Shares (BHMU) 20.8 -1.89%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 245.40p -1.64%Carpetright (CPR) 621.00p -1.43%Kier Group (KIE) 1,250.00p -1.42%PayPoint (PAY) 1,067.00p -1.20%BH Macro Ltd. EUR Shares (BHME) € 21.25 -1.16%HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd (HICL) 129.40p -1.15%AB