LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Moves Toward Small Weekly Gain

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch Balfour Beatty rebuffs bid for investment arm

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Friday as gains in most sectors nudged the FTSE 100 toward a modest advance for the week.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.8% to 6,730.46. Investors will next turn to widely watched U.S. jobs data, due at 1:30 p.m. London Time, with analysts expecting, on average, the creation of 235,000 jobs in November.

In London trade, only the basic materials group was moving lower, continuing a painful run of losses as companies tackle issues ranging from oversupply, slowing demand and falling prices. Miner Randgold Resources Ltd. fell 2.2% and oil-services firm Petrofac Ltd. slumped 2.1%, with those shares poised for a weekly loss of 6%.

Iron-ore heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) shed 1% and Tullow Oil PLC fell 1.6%.

Intertek Group PLC was one of the best performers. Its shares were up 3.2%. UBS raised the product-testing and certification company to a buy rating from neutral, citing "attractive risk/reward with M&A providing further upside optionality."

Shares of aerospace equipment maker Meggitt PLC were also up 3.2%, boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Investec.

The FTSE 100 was looking at a weekly gain of 0.1%.

Topping the FTSE 250 index , Balfour Beatty PLC shares jumped 5% after the construction-services company turned down a 1 billion pound ($1.57 billion) bid from John Laing Infrastructure Fund for its public-private portfolio.

The FTSE 100 on Thursday lost 0.6%, falling alongside the broader European stock market after the European Central Bank decided to hold off on expanding stimulus measures for the struggling eurozone.

But a Bloomberg report late Thursday raised fresh hopes about European Central Bank stimulus plans, as it said the central bank expects to consider a proposal for broad-based asset purchases in January.

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