Reuters: Hot Stocks: Britain's FTSE equals own record with 10th month of gains

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Britain's FTSE equals own record with 10th month of gains Mar 28th 2013, 17:09 Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:09pm EDT * FTSE 100 gains 0.4 pct * Banks rebound as Cyprus worries fade * Defensive lead market higher, Tate on top * No .L report until Tuesday April 2; UK market on holiday By Alistair Smout LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index closed up in March, equalling its record streak of monthly gains, as traders positioned for the end of the quarter, aided by improved sentiment over the bailout of Cyprus. The FTSE 100 gained 8.7 percent in the first quarter, and 0.8 percent for the month of March, achieving a 10th consecutive month of gains for only the second time, the first having been in 1996/97. London markets are closed on Friday for a public holiday. The gains have come against a backdrop of political gridlock in Italy and uncertainty over a controversial bailout for Cyprus, but with continued policy easing by global central banks helping to support asset prices. "We're not only at the end of the month but we're at the end of the quarter as well, and with that in mind, the fact that FTSE is up as much as this is pretty impressive," said Alastair McCaig, analyst at IG Index. "Equity markets have been in the last couple of months pretty perky, and it has very much been a mentality where people are buying on the dip." Broad-based gains saw defensive stocks lead the rise, although Britain's banks rallied to gain 0.6 percent, on course for their biggest gains in two weeks. Cypriot banks opened for the first time in nearly a fortnight after a bailout saga which had weighed on British banks to the tune of 6 percent before Thursday's session, with fears that a tax imposed on large bank deposits would become the new model for euro zone rescues. "The fiscal quantities we're talking about are relatively small, and it was more the sentiment over how it has been handled that has mattered. Markets seem to have pretty categorically stated that they're not overly worried, and assume the Cyprus is a special case," McCaig said. The FTSE 100 closed up 24.18 points, or 0.4 percent, at 6,411.74, with financials, which include banks, asset managers and insurers, adding 7 points to the index as they rallied from recent three-month lows. Defensive stocks were especially strong, with consumer staples adding 9.4 points to the index, led by Tate & Lyle . The sugar manufacturer rose 3 percent, the top gainer on the index, after a spate of positive analyst comment - including an upgrade from Panmure to 'buy' from 'hold' - following a reassuring trading update. Tate has a price momentum of 88 according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, meaning its momentum is better than roughly 88 percent of its peers, and it is seen as benefiting from good exposure to strong U.S. growth. Intercontinental Hotels Group was close behind, up 2.8 percent after agreeing to sell a luxury London hotel for $605 million to a Qatari-backed investor. "The 62 percent premium to book value and earlier-than-expected disposal both increase, in our view, the potential for near-term additional cash shareholder returns as IHG moves further towards its asset-light/free strategy," Investec said in a note, increasing its rating on the stock to "buy" from "hold". (Editing by Catherine Evans) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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