LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 At Record High As Shire, Property Stocks Gain

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks traded at record highs Friday, moving toward a weekly gain as shares of drug maker Shire PLC and real-estate companies advanced.

The FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 7,047, above its record closing high of 7,037.67 it notched in late March, according to FactSet data. The blue-chip index was on track for a 4% weekly rise. It fell in the previous two weeks.

Friday's best performance was coming from Shire PLC . The pharmaceutical company's shares rose 4.6% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will consider its application for its Lifitegrast dry-eye disease treatment, and will do so under priority review. Under FDA rules, the agency will aim to take action on the application within eight months, rather than the 12 months under a standard review.

Property stocks were also among the strongest gainers after Jefferies upgraded its stance on the U.K. residential sector. "The latest data points to a stronger pre-election housing market than we had anticipated," said analysts in a note Friday.

In the group, home builder Taylor Wimpey PLC climbed 2.6% as it was upgraded to buy from hold. Barratt Developments PLC and Persimmon PLC were upgraded to hold from underweight. Barratt shares picked up 3%, and Persimmon rose 1.6%.

Among decliners, Royal Mail PLC fell 0.9% and miner Anglo American PLC lost 1%.

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