U.K.’s FTSE 100 Advances, Led by Barclays, Standard Chartered

By Alexis Xydias

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced, with the FTSE 100 Index reversing earlier declines, as shares of banks rebounded from their steepest loss in eight months.

Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Standard Chartered Plc rose more than 2 percent. British Airways Plc declined as the airline’s 12,000 cabin crew start voting to go on strike.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.3 percent to 5,321.25 as of 10:18 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 0.3 percent and Ireland’s ISEQ Index climbed 0.2 percent.

Global stocks fell last week, with the FTSE 100 posting its biggest retreat since October, as banks plunged on a White House proposal to limit financial risk, China moved to rein in economic stimulus and speculation grew Australia may consider raising taxes on mining companies.

U.K Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposals for banks may undermine the consensus amongst Group of 20 nations on reform, the Sunday Times said, citing an interview.

Barclays added 2 percent to 276.7 pence, snapping four days of losses. RBS, the recipient of the world’s largest bank bailout, rose 3.4 percent to 35.87 pence. Standard Chartered added 3.6 percent to 1,480 pence. HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, climbed 1.5 percent to 683.5 pence, the first advance in 11 sessions.

The FTSE 350 Banks Index tumbled 6.3 percent last week, the steepest weekly drop since May, after Obama proposed plans including a scrap on proprietary trading to curb risk-taking in banks.

“If everyone does their own thing it will achieve absolutely nothing,” Darling said, according to the Sunday Times. “The banks are global -- they are quite capable of organizing themselves in such a way that if the regime is difficult in one country they will go to another one, and that doesn’t do anyone any good.”

British Airways lost 0.9 percent to 206.1 pence. The airline will today begin training pilots, baggage handlers and engineers to take over the duties of flight attendants as cabin crew commence voting on a walkout over staffing reductions.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.