U.K. Stocks Rise, Led by Mining Companies; Prudential Climbs

By Adam Haigh

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rose for a second day after Prudential Plc posted a narrower first-half loss and raw- material producers rallied as metal prices climbed.

Prudential added 2.5 percent after the U.K.’s biggest insurer by market value said U.S. sales increased and the value of securities held by the unit climbed. Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. gained as copper rallied on the London Metal Exchange.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index gained 20.88, or 0.4 percent, to 4,737.64 as of 8:19 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 0.5 percent and Ireland’s ISEQ Index advanced 1 percent.

The FTSE 100 has rebounded 35 percent since March 3 amid speculation the worst of a global economic slowdown is past and as companies from GlaxoSmithKline Plc to Aviva Plc posted results that beat estimates.

Prudential gained 2.2 percent to 488.6 pence. The net loss narrowed to 129 million pounds ($213.9 million) from 355 million pounds a year earlier. Operating profit, measured by so-called European embedded value, fell 7.7 percent to 1.25 billion pounds, beating the 1.19 billion-pound median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The insurer’s U.S. “retail sales were the highest in any first half in its history,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Tucker said in a statement.

Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest mining company, added 3.1 percent to 2,384.5 pence. BHP Billiton, the biggest, gained 2.5 percent to 1,594.5 pence. Copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc climbed in London.

Thomas Cook Group Plc slid 4.8 percent to 219 pence after Europe’s second-biggest tour operator said its nine-month loss widened, partly because of the affect of swine flu on summer bookings.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net