UK stocks register their largest weekly gain in a month, mining sector supports

Shares in the United Kingdom posted their most considerable weekly advance in a month, as gains of mining companies neutralized losses recorded by insurers.

On the London Stock Exchange (LSE) the FTSE 100 Index, encompassing companies with the largest market capitalization, closed at 6,615.58 on Friday, climbing 0.41% for the day, while rising 0.9% for the whole week. The quarterly loss of the index has been reduced to 2%.

The wider FTSE All-Share Index registered a 0.3% daily gain.

Shares of Glencore Xstrata surged 2.00% to 313.250 GBP, while those of Anglo American Plc. climbed 1.48% to reach 1,509.000 GBP. The FTSE 350 Mining Index rose 1%.

Shares of Smith & Nephew gained 2.39% to reach 921.500 GBP, while Investec Plc revised up its rating on the company to buy from add.

Among the gainers also were Standard Chartered Plc, a banking group with operations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, up 2.23% to 1,259.50 GBP and G4S Plc, a security provider, up 2.19% to 237.900 GBP per share.

In the meantime, shares of Resolution Ltd. plunged 7.12% to reach 296.300 GBP, while shares of Aviva Plc fell 2.75% to 470.200 GBP. Prudential Plc lost 2.62% to 1,280.500 GBP per share.

A Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) spokeswoman said that the regulator is to present a plan of its priorities for the year on March 31st, which will include an inspection of treatment of long-term customers in country’s life-insurance sector.

“The U.K. economy is actually much more robust and much more balanced in its structure than some of the headlines suggest, and the markets are recognizing that,” Gerard Lane, a strategist at Shore Capital Group Ltd. in Liverpool, said by phone, cited by Bloomberg News. As far as insurance companies were concerned, “there is still an increased level of uncertainty around the sector as a whole”.