LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Turns Higher As Miners Climb

By Carla Mozee and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

U.K. stocks drop for second straight day

The U.K.'s benchmark stock index erased earlier losses and swung higher on Thursday, with miners leading the charge on the back of a rebound in metals prices and well-received corporate news for the sector.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,042, partly recovering from a 0.5% loss on Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-gains-as-tesco-rolls-royce-move-higher-2015-04-22).

The biggest advancer on Thursday was Antofagasta PLC , which jumped 4.3% after the Chilean copper producer said it agreed to sell its water division (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/antofagasta-agrees-to-sell-water-unit-for-960m-2015-04-23) to Colombia's Empresas Publicas de Medellin for 596 billion Chilean pesos ($960 million).

Anglo American PLC put on 3.5% after a production update.

Other miners were also on the rise, getting a slight boost from rising metals prices. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gained 3%, BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) climbed 2.7% and Glencore PLC (GLNCY) picked up 2.1%.

Among other advancers, supermarket chain Tesco PLC rose 1.2% following Wednesday's 5.2% slide in the wake of its massive full-year loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesco-posts-biggest-ever-loss-after-turbulent-year-2015-04-22). Shares of Meggitt PLC rose 0.3% after a first-quarter trading update from the aerospace, defense and energy group.

Elsewhere, home-builder Taylor Wimpey said in a trading update that it saw a 14% rise in the average selling price of homes (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/taylor-wimpey-posts-strong-sales-reservations-up-2015-04-23). The company also said uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the May 7 general election "has not impacted customer confidence, and underlying demand remains high." Shares turned higher by 0.4%.

WPP PLC posted one of the biggest declines on Thursday, down 1.6%. The advertising firm said it's reviewing its forecasts and cautioned that clients remained focused on cost-cutting (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wpp-reviews-forecasts-as-revenue-rises-2015-04-23-248589). WPP said revenue rose in the first quarter, by 8.3% in sterling terms.

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