U.K. Stocks Climb; Financials Rebound as Greece Concern Abates

By Sarah Jones

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced for a third day, led by banks and insurers after Germany signaled it may help Greece tackle is sovereign debt.

Aviva Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Legal & General Group Plc all rallied more than 2 percent in London. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc added 2.5 percent after earnings beat analysts’ estimates. ICAP Plc gained 3.4 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. became the latest broker to recommend the shares.

The FTSE 100 Index climbed 17.04, or 0.3 percent, to 5,128.88 at 8:53 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 0.3 percent today, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index added 1.1 percent.

U.K. stock have retreated for four-straight weeks, the longest losing streak since July, amid mounting concern that Greece, Spain and Portugal will struggle to reduce their budget deficits.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will brief lawmakers today on steps he may take to support the Greek government as it braces for a wave of strikes protesting deficit-reduction plans.

Yesterday, the European Union’s new economic affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, said support for Greece will be discussed in the coming days. Michael Meister, a German legislator from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said lawmakers are considering financial assistance.

Insurers

Aviva led a rebound in insurance stocks, climbing 3.1 percent to 355 pence, while Legal & General added 2.3 percent to 71.75 pence. Insurers were sold off amid concern holdings of corporate and government debt may threaten their capital as state finances worsen.

Lloyds Banking Group increased 3.6 percent to 49.92 pence, while Barclays Plc added 2.4 percent to 275.85 pence.

Shares of ICAP increased 3.4 percent to 315 pence as Goldman Sachs raised its recommendation for the broker to “buy” from “neutral,” following a 21 percent plunge in the shares last week.

BofA-Merrill Lynch yesterday added ICAP to its “Europe 1” list while analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG upgraded the shares to “outperform” on Feb. 8.

Reckitt Benckiser rallied 2.5 percent to 3,213 pence after the world’s largest maker of household cleaners reported growth in fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, driven by sales of Nurofen painkillers and its heroin-dependency drug. Net income rose to 448 million pounds ($702 million), beating the 435.6 million- pound average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

-- Editors: Jason Carey.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones at sjones35@bloomberg.net.