Stocks

U.K. Stocks Fluctuate; Royal Bank Gains as Man Group Declines

(Bloomberg) — U.K. stocks fluctuated as Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling pledged to maintain support until the economic recovery is secured, countering a retreat in Man Group Plc.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc rose as Darling said the economy will recover from its longest recession on record next year and decided against a windfall tax on banks’ profits. Standard Chartered Plc climbed after it said exposure to Dubai won’t lead to any “material” impairment charges. Man Group, the biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, retreated 2.8 percent.

The benchmark FTSE 100 gained 2.54, or less than 0.1 percent, to 5,225.67 as of 12:57 p.m. in London, having earlier declined as much as 0.6 percent. The measure has rebounded 49 percent from its low on March 3 as governments committed about $12 trillion and central banks cut interest rates to record lows to end the global recession and revive credit markets. The FTSE All-Share Index was little changed and Ireland’s ISEQ Index gained 0.8 percent before the country’s 2010 budget today.

The finance minister forecast growth in 2010 to between 1 percent and 1.5 percent, the same as he estimated in March. He expects growth of about 3.5 percent in 2011 and 2012. For 2009, Darling forecasts the economy will shrink by between 4.75 percent, deeper than his March projection for a contraction between 3.75 percent and 3.25 percent.

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