UK stocks : FTSE 100 up 0.3 pct
Uk stocks closing: UK shares rose on Monday, supported by strength in heavyweight mining and energy stocks after data showed China's manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in over a year.
Miners provided around a quarter of the FTSE 100's index's points gain as the sector tracked a copper price that rose on the improved PMI figures from the world's top metals consumer.
The latest readings from official and private sector surveys of China's vast manufacturing sector showed activity picked up November, adding to evidence the economy is reviving after seven quarters of slowing growth.
Data on Monday also showed British manufacturing activity shrank much less than expected in November, although the sector remains in a precarious state as new orders edged down.
At 1141 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 19.94 points, or 0.3 percent, at 5,886.76 points, with volumes modest at 20 percent of the 90-day daily average in the first session of the final month of 2013.
Traders had mixed views over whether the UK stock market would advance much further due to uncertainty over the U.S. "fiscal cliff" - a combination of spending cuts and tax rises due to be implemented in early 2013 that could tip the world's leading economy back into recession.
"Any comment about markets in December is heavily contingent on the daily progress of the U.S. fiscal cliff debate as well as no further accidents in Europe," said Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Witan Investment Trust.
"Both of these problems look under control, with some form of
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