U.K. stocks climbed for an eighth day, the longest winning streak in almost two years, before a U.S. report that may show a rebound in factory orders for the world’s largest economy. Tullow Oil rallied 2.6 percent after the explorer raised its output target. Reckitt Benckiser Plc climbed 2.2 percent amid speculation the company may be a takeover target. Rio Tinto Group fell as copper declined for the first time in six days. The FTSE 100 Index (UKX) rose 9.4, or 0.2 percent, to 6,026.94 at 12:36 p.m. in London, a two-month high. The FTSE All-Share Index (ASX) also advanced 0.2 percent, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index dropped 0.5 percent. “While traders are still in bullish mode, many are likely to wait for the U.S. open before committing funds,” said Manoj Ladwa, a senior trader at ETX Capital in London. The FTSE 100 rallied 5.1 percent last week after Greek lawmakers passed a five-year austerity package, qualifying the country for further aid from the European Union. The gauge had fallen for the previous five weeks amid concern that Europe’s debt crisis was deepening and as U.S. payroll and manufacturing reports trailed forecasts. A U.S. Commerce Department report due at 10 a.m. in Washington may show that orders placed with factories rebounded 1 percent in May after falling by the most in almost a year in April, according to economists. Tullow Gains Tullow Oil rallied 2.4 percent to 1,283 pence after the London-based explorer with the most licenses in Africa raised its full-year production target and said it plans to expand in Sierra Leone and Kenya. The company expects output to rise to as much as 94,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day after the final wells are completed at the Jubilee field in Ghana in August. It previously gave a forecast of 86,000 barrels to 92,000 barrels a day. Reckitt Benckiser rose 2.2 percent to 3,563 pence after the Independent said that Unilever Plc and Procter & Gamble Co. may be interested in making a bid for the maker of Nurofen painkillers and Finish dishwasher tablets. The newspaper didn’t say where it got the information. Rob Orman, a credit analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London said a takeover is “unlikely, but cannot be completely ruled out.” He said both Unilever and Procter & Gamble could face competition issues. Schroders Plc (SDR) climbed 1.2 percent to 1,615 pence after UBS AG upgraded the U.K.’s biggest publicly traded fund manager to “buy” from “neutral.” Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest mining company, lost 1.3 percent to 4,479.5 pence and Kazakhmys Plc (KAZ) slid 1.4 percent to 1,376 pence. Copper slid after a state-owned newspaper in China said that the government will probably increase interest rates this weekend, curbing demand for industrial metals. Intertek Group Plc (ITRK) dropped 3.2 percent to 1,900 pence, the worst performer on the FTSE 100. Analysts at Societe Generale SA downgraded the company to “hold” from “buy.” To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

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