U.K. stocks climbed for a second day, led by a rally in TUI Travel Plc.
TUI Travel climbed 1.9 percent after TUI AG logged a surge in operating profit. British Land Co. and Land Securities Group Plc added more than 1 percent each after Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch recommended buying their shares. Glencore Plc fell 1.3 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG lowered the stock.
The FTSE 100 Index rose 15.56 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,672.24 at 11:15 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has rebounded 1.6 percent this week from an almost four-month low on Aug. 8. The broader FTSE All-Share Index gained 0.3 percent today, and Ireland’s ISEQ Index advanced 0.4 percent.
As the European Union’s statistics office said, gross domestic product in the euro area was unchanged in the three months through June from the first quarter. The median economist forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for growth of 0.1 percent. In Germany, the economy shrank 0.2 percent in the second quarter, while France’s GDP stagnated, prompting the government to scrap its 2014 deficit target.
TUI Travel, which is merging with Germany’s TUI AG, climbed 1.9 percent to 368.7 pence. The owner of Europe’s largest tour operator posted an 89 percent surge in third-quarter operating profit after raising prices and attracting more hotel guests.
British Land added 1.3 percent to 716.5 pence and Land Securities advanced 1.4 percent to 1,081 pence. Merrill Lynch raised its rating to buy from neutral for both real estate investment trusts.
Mining behemoth Glencore dipped 1.3 percent to 360.8 pence after Credit Suisse downgraded its shares to neutral from outperform, the equivalent of a buy.
Miners in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell the most among 19 industry groups. Rio Tinto Group was down 1.7 percent.
