Banks, miners lift U.K. stocks after China data

LONDON (MarketWatch) � U.K. stocks rose on Friday, as encouraging Chinese and U.S. trade data lured investors into taking more risk, with mining firms and banks benefiting from the upbeat sentiment.

The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX gained 0.6% to close at 6,263.93, trimming its weekly loss to 1.3%.

Click to Play Disputes hit China-Japan tourism

Chinese demand for tour packages to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday has fallen by about half compared with last year. The WSJ's Jeffrey Ng explains why Chinese tourists are avoiding what was once the season's most popular international destination.

Shares of Vodafone Group PLC UK:VOD �VOD �rose 1.2% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch lifted the wireless-telecom firm to buy from neutral.

Mining firms also showed positive moves, rising on the back of optimism about better-than-expected Chinese trade data.

The January figures showed monthly exports jumped 25% and imports climbed 28.8% from the year-ago period, giving the country a trade surplus of $29.2 billion. All three figures beat market expectations. See: Most Asia stocks up after China data; Japan falls

Resource firms, such as miners, tend to rise on positive growth indications from China, as the country is a huge user of natural resources.

Data from the U.S. showed the trade deficit fell almost 21% in December, pointing to a stronger reading for economic activity in the fourth quarter than the 0.1% decline as initially reported. See: U.S. trade deficit sinks to nearly two-year low

Shares of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. UK:ENRC �rose 1.8% and Kazakhmys PLC UK:KAZ �added 0.8%. Metal prices were mostly higher. Read more about metals prices

Reuters Enlarge Image Miners rise in London after strong Chinese trade data.

Antofagasta PLC UK:ANTO �climbed 0.7% after HSBC raised the miner to neutral from underweight.

The bank also upped Anglo American PLC UK:AAL �to overweight from neutral, sending its shares 1.8% higher.

Aggreko PLC UK:AGK �added 2%, as HSBC lifted the temporary-power supplier to neutral from underweight.

Banks also rose in London, as investors seemed to be willing to take on more risk. HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA �HBC �HK:5 �added 2.3%, Standard Chartered PLC UK:STAN �rose 2.7% and Barclays PLC UK:BARC �BCS �gained 2.1%.

Shares of Experian PLC UK:EXPN �gained 1.2%, as UBS lifted the credit-check firm to buy from neutral.

Shares of Smiths Group PLC UK:SMIN �lost 0.3%. UBS cut the engineering company to neutral from a buy rating, saying that after a strong performance in 2012 �we believe the qualities are reflected in the share price.�

�We believe the next stage in the evolution of Smiths and its share price is to deliver sustainable organic-revenue growth across the divisions and to simplify the portfolio,� said UBS analyst Rami Myerson in a note.

�However, the former is unlikely in the near term, given tough end markets, and the latter is unlikely in the near term, given Smiths pension deficit,� he added.

Outside the main index in London, shares of online-gaming firm Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PLC UK:BPTY surged 16%, as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie late Thursday said he was willing to allow online gaming under certain conditions.