Basic materials shares helped Britain's top equity index to a second straight weekly gain on Friday, offsetting a fall in bottling firm Coca Cola Hellenic following its results, Reuters reported. The index was up 1.4 percent for the week, rallying from six-week lows at the beginning of February. It climbed above its 50-day moving average on Thursday, a technical signal which suggested underlying support from buyers. Basic materials added 5.7 points to the index and miners gained 1 percent. Mining stocks are up 6.3 percent this year, 4.3 percent of which has come in the last week. Global strategists at Citi recommended investing in basic materials shares with an emerging market exposure, highlighting lower capital expenditure and improved cash flow generation. Precious metals miner Fresnillo surged 5.3 percent as gold posted its best week in six months, while other miners were supported by a firmer copper price. Overall, the FTSE 100 was up 4.20 points, up 0.1 percent, at 6,663.62 points by 1549 GMT. -- SPA 20:10 LOCAL TIME 17:10 GMT تغريد
