Resource firms boost FTSE 100, GSK rises

LONDON (MarketWatch) � Resource firms led U.K. stocks higher on Tuesday, tracking gains for most commodity prices, while GlaxoSmithKline PLC rose after a broker upgrade.

The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX gained 0.2% to 6,303.93, on track for a fifth straight day of gains.

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Shares of Anglo American PLC UK:AAL put in one of the best performances in the index, up 2.3%, after the miner said it would write down the value of its Minas-Rio iron-ore project by $4 billion, but said it remains confident about the project�s medium and long term attractiveness. See: Anglo American: Minas-Rio CapEx to reach $8.8B

Other miners were also on the rise, as most metals prices showed positive moves. Shares of Kazakhmys PLC UK:KAZ gained 1.5%, Rio Tinto PLC UK:RIO RIO AU:RIO gained 1.4% and BHP Billiton PLC UK:BLT rose 0.4%.

Reuters Royal Bank of Scotland shares drop on Tuesday, after a broker downgrade the previous day.

Oil firms further advanced, as oil prices CLH3 climbed closer to $97 a barrel. BP PLC UK:BP �BP picked up 0.8%, Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDS.B UK:RDSB gained 0.6% and BG Group PLC UK:BG rose 0.1%.

Shares of GlaxoSmithKline UK:GSK GSK added 0.5%, after�Barclays raised its recommendation on the drug maker to overweight from equal weight.

�We believe that stabilization in the earnings outlook could mark a change in sentiment towards the shares and a greater appreciation that GSK is entering a stable period of consistent 3% growth with modest pipeline assumptions,� Barclays analysts wrote.

Banks, on the other hand, traded in red territory. Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS RBS slumped 3.3%, after Goldman Sachs Monday afternoon cut the bank to sell from neutral.

Also, The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that U.S. authorities are pushing RBS to agree to a settlement of interest-rate-rigging allegations that would include pleading guilty to criminal charges as well as a fine. RBS executives are resisting the push for a guilty plea, the report said. See: U.S. seeking criminal charges for RBS: WSJ.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC UK:LLOY fell 1.1% and Barclays PLC UK:BARC BCS dropped 1.4%.

Shares of Experian PLC UK:EXPN shed 0.8%. The credit-check company said its 2013 guidance, which was laid out in the third-quarter earnings statement earlier in January, remains unchanged.