July 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.K stocks rose, paced by HSBC Holdings Plc after a newspaper said the company may be looking to sell its part-owned German bank. Corus Group Plc, Britain's biggest steelmaker, jumped as Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation on European steel stocks.

The FTSE 100 Index rose 17.6, or 0.3 percent, to 5248.4 as of 9:06 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index increased 0.2 percent to 2619.52.

Irish stocks including Bank of Ireland fell, while Ryanair Holdings Plc rose. The ISEQ Index gained 4.99, or 0.1 percent, to 6603.03.

HSBC, Europe's biggest bank by market value, rose 8.5 pence, or 0.9 percent, to 923 pence. The Financial Times said HSBC and Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg Girozentrale are in talks about a possible buyout of their jointly owned HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhard.

HSBC owns 73.5 percent of the German private bank, while LBBW owns 20.3 percent, the FT said.

ITV Plc, the U.K. commercial television broadcaster, fell 3.25 pence, or 2.6 percent, to 122.5 pence. ITV is among potential bidders who may offer as much as 800 million pounds ($1.8 billion) for Telewest Global Inc.'s content business, the Sunday Express said without citing anyone.

Corus jumped 0.5 pence, or 1.1 percent, to 47 pence after Morgan Stanley analysts raised the recommendation on European steel stocks to ``in-line'' from ``cautious.''

Bank of Ireland, the country's biggest lender by assets, dropped 10 cents, or 0.7 percent, to 13.55 euros. Ryanair, Europe's biggest low cost airline, advanced 13 cents, or 2 percent, to 6.78 euros.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sophie Hares in London at shares@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 18, 2005 04:13 EDT