British shares rise

Published: 01 July 2013

London - Britain's top share index rose on Monday as investors placed fresh bets at the start of the quarter, with robust June manufacturing data sending industrial firms to the top of the leaderboard.

"We are encouraged by the fact the PMI is moving in the right direction and that's a good environment for the industrial sector," James Butterfill, equity strategist at Coutts, said.

The Bank of England provided more strong numbers, with data showing British mortgage approvals for house purchase rose in May to the highest level since December 2009.

At 11:02 SA time, the FTSE 100 index was up 9.19 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6,224.66.

The index, which hit a 13-year high in late May, bounced back after falling 0.5 percent on Friday and slipping in June following gains in the previous 12 months.

The industrial sector was the top gainer, with BAE Systems up 1.8 percent, Rolls Royce gaining 0.6 percent and Travis Perkins up 2.1 percent.

"It's dangerous to turn bearish at this point. We think the stock market's direction is still up, primarily on the back of still pretty loose global monetary policy, combined with undemanding valuations," Robert Parkes, equity strategist at HSBC Securities, said.

Technical analysts were cautiously optimistic.

"The FTSE's retreat has taken it to within striking distance of its long-term uptrend and, as the monthly candlestick chart illustrates, the trend remains intact," Bill McNamara, technical analyst at Charles Stanley, said.

"This is not to say that we have seen the end of the volatility ... Critical support has developed at around 6,020 and, in the near term, I do not expect the rally to extend much beyond 6,375," he said in a note.

- Reuters