U.K. Stocks Advance for Second Day; RBS, Lloyds, Experian Gain

By Adria Cimino and Daniela Silberstein

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced for a second day, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index trimming its weekly decline, as Deutsche Bank AG said U.K. banks are still cheap and Experian Plc forecast “modest improvements” in growth.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc advanced more than 1 percent. Experian rose 2 percent after reporting third-quarter sales. Pearson Plc, the publisher of the Financial Times newspaper, climbed 2.1 percent.

The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.4 percent to 5,518.86 as of 10:17 a.m. in London, trimming its weekly drop to 0.2 percent. The gauge surged 22 percent in 2009 for its biggest annual rally since 1997 and has rebounded 56 percent since March 3 as central banks cut interest rates to record lows and governments worldwide committed about $12 trillion to revive the economy. The FTSE All-Share Index added 0.4 percent today and Ireland’s ISEQ Index rose 0.7 percent.

RBS, recipient of the world’s biggest banking bailout, climbed 3.1 percent to 37.11 pence. Lloyds, the U.K.’s biggest mortgage lender, gained 1.1 percent to 58.15 pence. U.K. banks are still cheap, even though increased capital and liquidity requirements pose a “significant share price risk,” Deutsche Bank AG.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest bank, added 1 percent to 721.4 pence. Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares to “buy” from “hold.”

JPMorgan Earnings

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the first of the largest U.S. banks to report fourth-quarter results, may today say profit more than tripled from the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Combined profit for companies in the S&P 500 surged 62 percent during the fourth quarter following a record nine- quarter slump in profits, analysts’ estimates show.

Experian rose 2 percent to 610.5 pence. The world’s largest credit-checking company reported third-quarter revenue growth that was little changed and said it expected “modest improvements” in sales growth in the fourth quarter.

Pearson Plc added 2.1 percent to 906.5 pence, gaining for a fifth day, its longest winning streak since October. Interactive Data Corp., which is majority owned by Pearson, is sounding out potential buyers, the Financial Times reported, citing sources close to the situation.

Man Group Plc, the biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, slid 5.7 percent to 296.6 pence. The company said assets fell 4 percent in the final three months of 2009 as its largest fund posted its first annual loss.

QinetiQ Group Plc plunged 11 percent to 144.9 pence, a record drop. The company said its “normal trading pattern” of a seasonally stronger second half will not occur this fiscal year after seeing delays in orders from government customers.

To contact the reporters on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net; Daniela Silberstein in Zurich at dsilberstei2@bloomberg.net.