LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Climbs As ARM, Sky Bounce Higher

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

But Rio Tinto drops after shipment update

U.K. stocks rose Tuesday, with shares of ARM Holdings PLC and Sky PLC gaining following financial updates from the chip designer and the broadcaster.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 7,103.59, adding to Monday's 0.8% advance.

Shares of ARM (ARMHY) jumped 4.5% after the chip designer, whose technology is found in the majority of the world's smartphones, said first-quarter revenue rose 22% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/arms-profit-lifted-by-strong-smartphone-demand-2015-04-21) to 227.5 million pounds, higher than the consensus estimate of GBP224 million. Net profit came in at GBP85 million, up from GBP62.3 million a year ago.

Sky shares climbed 4.4% as the broadcaster's operating profit in the nine months ended March 31 rose 20% to GBP1.03 billion year-over-year. Revenue was up 5% to GBP8.45 billion. Sky said the period was supported by growth in television subscribers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sky-earnings-up-on-uk-german-subscriber-growth-2015-04-21) and demand for new services in the U.K. and Germany.

But shares of Rio Tinto were pushed 2.2% lower after the miner said iron-ore shipments fell 12% in the first quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rio-tinto-iron-ore-shipments-set-to-rise-2015-04-21) to 72.5 million metric tons, from the previous quarter. But Rio Tinto said it's still aiming to meet a previously announced full-year target of up to 350 million tons.

Associated British Foods shares were also moving lower, down 2.9% after the company said it now expects a modest decline (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/associated-british-foods-pretax-profit-drops-4-2015-04-21) in adjusted per-share earnings for the full year. AB Foods, which owns retailer Primark and sugar operations, had previously expected a marginal decline in adjusted earnings.

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