UK stocks : FTSE 100 index edges up 0.1 pct
UK stock closing: Britain's blue-chip index posted its highest close in nine months on Tuesday, supported by strong German economic data but enduring a late sell-off as it balked at technical resistance.
The FTSE 100 closed up 3.34 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,924.97, edging off an intraday high of 5,937.93 on a bout of selling in the last 45 minutes of trading.
The sell-off dragged the index back below a September intraday high that had been the top end of recent ranges.
"A close above the September high of 5,932.62 would be a very positive sign, but with resistance at the year high (of 5,989) before we get to 6,000, I'd still be patient," said Phil Roberts, head of technical analysis at Barclays Capital.
Having stalled at that level, Roberts said he was looking for support around the 5,830 level.
Despite failing to post a strong close, the index did rise for the fifth day in a row, the second such run this month and only the fourth this year.
Supporting the rise was a much bigger than expected jump in Germany's influential ZEW survey of economic sentiment in November. The FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent in the 70 minutes after the data.
"The market needed a catalyst to finally break that magnetism that the 5,900 level had been having on the FTSE, and arguably today's ZEW confidence figures from Germany have not only beaten expectations but fairly smashed them," said Alastair McCaig, Market Analyst at IG Index.
He added that the FTSE was less exposed to
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