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* Miners biggest gainers on FTSE 100
* UK retail sales rise 2.1% in February
* Smiths Group tops index on upbeat forecast
* Both FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 up 1%
(Updates to close)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S
March 26 (Reuters) - Mining and oil stocks helped London's
FTSE 100 index end a subdued week on a positive note on Friday,
and higher February retail sales underpinned optimism over a
swifter global economic recovery.
The blue chip FTSE 100 index ended 1% higher and
marked its best session in over two weeks, with mining stocks
including Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore
and BHP gaining between 3.4% and 5.3%.
Oil heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell
were also among the biggest boosts, as oil prices jumped over
4%.
"I don't think investors are looking at anything other than
single stocks scenarios, and you can tell by today's market
action there's not a lot of real conviction out there apart from
the metal- and oil-related," said Keith Temperton, an equity
sales trader at Forte Securities.
The FTSE 100 has rebounded more than 36% from a
coronavirus-driven crash last year, but the pace of gains has
slowed recently amid concerns over renewed coronavirus lockdowns
in Europe denting a swifter economic recovery.
British retail sales rose in February, helped in part by
consumers buying outdoor furniture ahead of a partial relaxing
of coronavirus restrictions which will allow people to meet in
gardens from next week.
Meanwhile, Bank of England's policymakers Michael Saunders
said Britain's economy may have more room to bounce back from
the COVID-19 pandemic before it generates excess inflation than
the bank predicted last month.
Smiths Group rose 6.9%, topping the index, after
the engineering firm issued upbeat forecast for the second half
of the fiscal year and reported better-than-expected interim
profit.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index
climbed 1%, led by industrials stocks.
Copper miner Kaz Minerals Plc gained 2.9%, after
receiving a final bid worth 4.02 billion pounds ($5.53 billion)
from its chairman-led Nova Resources.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S in Bengaluru;
Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Hugh Lawson)
