LONDON MARKETS: Resource Firms Boost FTSE 100; GSK Rises

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Resource firms led U.K. stocks higher on Tuesday, tracking gains for most commodity prices, while GlaxoSmithKline PLC rose after a broker upgrade.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.4% to 6,317.22, on track for a fifth straight day of gains.

Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) slumped 6.2%, after Goldman Sachs Monday afternoon cut the bank to sell from neutral.

Also, The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that U.S. authorities are pushing RBS to agree to a settlement of interest-rate-rigging allegations that would include pleading guilty to criminal charges as well as a fine. RBS executives are resisting the push for a guilty plea, the report said. A representative from the bank said in emailed comments that "discussions with various authorities in relation to Libor setting are ongoing. We continue to cooperate fully with their investigations." .

Lloyds Banking Group PLC fell 2.5% and Barclays PLC (BCS) dropped 1.8%.

Shares of Anglo American PLC put in one of the best performances in the index, up 2.6%, after the miner said it would write down the value of its Minas-Rio iron-ore project by $4 billion, but said it remains confident about the project's medium and long term attractiveness.

Other miners were also on the rise, as most metals prices showed positive moves. Shares of Kazakhmys PLC gained 1.1%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gained 1.9% and BHP Billiton PLC rose 1.4%.

Oil firms further advanced, as oil prices (CLH3) climbed above $97 a barrel. BP PLC (BP) picked up 1%, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) gained 1% and BG Group PLC rose 0.2%.

Shares of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) added 1.2%, after Barclays raised its recommendation on the drug maker to overweight from equal weight.

"We believe that stabilization in the earnings outlook could mark a change in sentiment toward the shares and a greater appreciation that GSK is entering a stable period of consistent 3% growth with modest pipeline assumptions," Barclays analysts wrote.

Shares of Experian PLC shed 0.1%. The credit-check company said its 2013 guidance, which was laid out in the third-quarter earnings statement earlier in January, remains unchanged.

Outside the main index in London, shares of Hunting PLC slumped 3.3%. J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut the oil-services firm to underweight from neutral.

The bank also slashed John Wood Group PLC to neutral from underweight, sending the shares 0.4% lower.

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