Banks, insurers inspire gains on FTSE 100

LONDON (MarketWatch) � Britain�s benchmark stock index snapped a five-day winning streak to end moderately lower on Wednesday, as Vodafone Group PLC and miners sustained losses.

The FTSE 100 UK:UKX �closed 0.2% down at 5,945.43. The index had been as high as 5,988.43 earlier in the session, but lost steam in afternoon trading.

The mining sector slipped into negative territory, led by Kazakhmys PLC UK:KAZ , which lost 4.3% to become the index�s biggest loser. Randgold Resources Ltd. UK:RRS �slid 3.6% and BHP Billiton PLC UK:BLT �BHP �fell 2.3%.

Click to Play Fed: U.S. Banks survive stress tests

The Federal Reserve released the results of its latest round of "stress tests."

Index heavyweight Vodafone Group PLC UK:VOD �VOD shed 2.4% after Exane BNP Paribas downgraded its rating on the stock to underperform from neutral.

G4S PLC UK:GFS �spent a second day in the red after posting its full-year earnings in the prior session. The security firm�s shares slipped 1.9%. In a note, Deutsche Bank analysts said the results were in line, but the outlook is mixed for the company.

Smiths Group PLC UK:SMIN �finished 1.1% lower after reporting that first-half net profit fell to 83.8 million pounds in 2011 from 173.8 million the year before. However, the technology increased its dividend payment by 4%. Investec had earlier downgraded Smiths Group to hold from buy and trimmed its full-year guidance for the firm.

Consumer-goods firms Unilever PLC UK:ULVR �and Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC UK:RB �were off 0.9% and 1.7%, respectively.

On the upside, banks added to solid gains won in the previous session. Barclays PLC UK:BARC �BCS �led the charge with a 3.9% rise, while Lloyds Banking Group PLC UK:LLOY �LYG � moved up 2.5% and HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA �HBC �rose 2%.

Overnight the U.S. Federal Reserve revealed the results of bank-stress tests, which showed 15 of 19 banks assessed have enough capital to withstand a crisis. The news sent shares of banks across Europe higher. Europe stocks end higher

Insurers also advanced, as Legal & General Group PLC UK:LGEN �landed the top spot on the FTSE 100.

Shares in Legal & General rallied 7.2% on the company�s full-year results. Operating profit rose to 1.06 billion pounds ($1.66 billion) in 2011 from 1.04 billion pounds in 2010. Analysts had forecast 1.04 billion pounds for the year. The firm also increased its full-year dividend by 35%.

Prudential PLC UK:PRU �extended gains won in Tuesday�s session and climbed 3.4%. Aviva PLC UK:AV �added 2.6%.

However, Old Mutual PLC UK:OML �missed out on the rally and fell 1.5% into the red.

/quotes/zigman/312884 NXT 3,553.00, +28.00, +0.79%

Retailer Marks & Spencer Group PLC UK:MKS moved up 2.4%, while Next PLC UK:NXT �scored a 1.2% gain.

Tullow Oil PLC UK:TLW �rose 1.9%. Tullow said its 2011 net profit rose to $649 million from $71 million in the year-earlier period. The company also doubled its dividend.

Other oil companies gained, including BG Group PLC UK:BG , which advanced 1.5%. Essar Energy PLC UK:ESSR also climbed 1.5%.

Outside the benchmark, Home Retail Group PLC UK:HOME �rose sharply after JP Morgan Cazenove lifted its rating on the firm to overweight from underweight. Home Retail shares jumped 4.6%.

Investors largely shook off the March U.K. labor-market report, which showed that the unemployment rate was 8.4% between November and January, unchanged from October to December.