European Stocks Advance on Mining and Chemical Issues (Bloomberg) (15-02-2008)

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- After a dip at the opening, European stocks advanced, led by mining and chemical companies, as metals prices advanced, offsetting losses by banks, which were hurt after the write-down revealed by Natixis.

Rio Tinto Group, the world's third-largest mining company, and Vedanta Resources Plc advanced in London. GlaxoSmithKline Plc climbed after billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed a stake in the world's second-biggest pharmaceuticals manufacturer.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.2 percent to 324.3 at 9:30 a.m. in London. The gauge has advanced 2.8 percent this week, trimming this year's retreat to 11 percent, as better- than-expected earnings from companies including Diageo Plc and Cap Gemini SA helped ease concern an economic slowdown will stifle profit growth.

Most national stock exchanges in western European advanced, with France's CAC 40 adding 0.2 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.4 percent. Germany's DAX rose 0.6 percent.

The Stoxx 50 increased less than 0.1 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, gained 0.2 percent.

Rio Tinto advanced 1.1 percent to 5,617 pence. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, added 1.6 percent to 1,591 pence, after copper and nickel gained on the London Metal Exchange today.

Vedanta, India's largest copper producer added 3.4 percent to 2,073 pence. UBS AG upgraded the shares to ``buy'' from ``neutral'' on the outlook for growth.

Linde, the world's biggest maker of industrial gases, rose 1.7 percent to 85.83 Euros. Lehman upgraded the stock to ``equal weight'' from ``underweight.''

Air Liquide gained 2.1 percent to 93.95 Euros. The world's second-biggest maker of industrial gases was raised to ``overweight'' from ``equal weight'' at Lehman.

Separately, Air Liquide said second-half profit rose 14 percent to 566 million euros, bolstered by Asian demand and growth in emerging markets.

GlaxoSmithKline climbed 1.3 percent to 1,115 pence. Berkshire owns 1.51 million American depositary receipts in Glaxo, according to a regulatory filing yesterday.

Source: Bloomberg