Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY) and Barclays Plc (BARC) led gains among lenders. Michael Page International Plc (MPI) plunged 9.9 percent after saying full-year profit will miss analysts’ estimates.
The FTSE 100 gained 37.52, or 0.7 percent, to 5,589.81 at 1:13 p.m. in London. The benchmark gauge last week posted its biggest increase since January 2009, as the U.S. unemployment rate fell and Germany and France pushed for greater fiscal union in the euro area. The FTSE All-Share Index added 0.7 percent, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index increased 1.4 percent.
“Markets are gaining ground as investors acknowledge reports out of Italy surrounding tough new austerity measures,” Harley Salt, head of sales trading at IG Markets in London, wrote in a note.
Monti will present the debt-reduction plan to the Chamber of Deputies at 4 p.m. in Rome and to the Senate at 6 p.m. after his Cabinet approved the package yesterday. The measures that include more than 12 billion euros ($16.1 billion) in spending cuts, will force workers to delay retirement, resurrect a tax on first homes, crack down on tax evasion and open up closed professions.
Fiscal Discipline
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy to advance a plan for stricter enforcement of the region’s budget-deficit rules. They will present that plan to the region’s leaders at a summit in Brussels on Dec. 9.
A gauge of European banks rose 2.4 percent for the biggest gain among the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. A measure of British banks advanced 1.9 percent.
Lloyds jumped 9.2 percent to 27.73 pence. Barclays climbed 2.6 percent to 195.65 pence. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) advanced 5.4 percent to 22.79 pence.
Michael Page, a recruitment services company, tumbled 9.6 percent to 330 pence. The company said full-year pretax profit will miss analyst forecasts.
Aberdeen Asset Management Plc (ADN) rallied 5.6 percent to 214.9 pence. Scotland’s largest money manager said fiscal full-year profit surged as revenue rose faster than costs and it sold more higher-margin products. Profit before one-time items in the year ended Sept. 30 rose to 241.7 million pounds ($378.2 million), beating analyst estimates.
Pace Plc (PIC), the world’s biggest maker of television set-top boxes, jumped 15 percent to 65.8 pence, extending last week’s 28 percent gain. The shares were raised to “hold” from “reduce” at Numis Securities Ltd.
(Bloombergnews)