By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Most U.K. stocks moved higher on Wednesday, as investors cheered an unexpected move toward further stimulus measures in Japan and solid housing data from the U.S.
The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX +0.35% rose 20.32 points, or 0.3%, to close at 5,888.48, breaking a two-day losing streak.
BP PLC UK:BP +1.09% BP +0.92% rose 1.1%, after The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the oil group was in talks to sell its Texas City refinery to Marathon Petroleum Corp. MPC +2.55% . Neither BP nor Marathon could immediately be reached for comment. See: BP reportedly in talks to sell Texas City refinery
AstraZeneca PLC UK:AZN +1.88% AZN +1.45% also supported the index and gained 1.9% after Exane BNP Paribas lifted the drug maker to neutral from underperform.
Heavyweight bank HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA +1.71% HBC +1.14% HK:5 +1.30% rose 1.7%.
The broader stock market was further boosted by an announcement from the Bank of Japan that it’ll increase the size of its asset purchases by 10 trillion yen ($126.7 billion) to about ¥80 trillion to support domestic economic activity. See: Bank of Japan adds to stimulus
The Bank of England’s policy makers voted unanimously to leave the bank’s key lending rate at a record low 0.5% and to maintain the size of its bond-buying program at 375 billion pounds ($610 billion), according to minutes from its meeting earlier in the month. See: BOE voted 9-0 in Sept. to leave policy unchanged
On the news front in the U.S., data showed existing home sales jumped 7.8% in August, while construction on new homes picked up 2.3%. See: Sales of existing homes jump 7.8% in August
Smiths Group PLC UK:SMIN +1.15% gained 1.2% after the technology company said in its full-year earnings report that it is building a solid foundation for higher medium-term revenue growth. Pretax profit declined 8% for the year. See: Smiths Group full-year profit falls 8%
Bucking the trend, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC UK:IMT -1.10% ITYBY -1.40% lost 1.1%. See: Big Tobacco braces for packaging ban
Most miners were also lower, as metals prices were mixed. Rio Tinto PLC UK:RIO -1.00% RIO -1.29% AU:RIO +0.96% gave up 1%.
Outside the main index, platinum producer Lonmin PLC UK:LMI +0.23% gained 0.2% after it late Tuesday signed a pay agreement with striking workers at its Marikana mine, ending a multiweek strike.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
