FTSE 100 Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are up in positive territory a little past noon on Tuesday, although gains are just modest as investors make cautious moves, choosing to wait for more news on the economic as well as trade front.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 17.59 or 0.2% at 8,622.57 about a quarter past noon.
Entain, the top gainer in the FTSE 100 index, is up more than 4.5%, thanks to a rating upgrade by UBS. Kingfisher is gaining nearly 3%, while Anglo American Plc., Rio Tinto, IAG, Persimmon, Sainsbury (J), Ashtead Group, Taylor Wimpey and Next are up 1.5 to 2.3%.
Weir Group, Glencore, Prudential, IMI, Fresnillo, JD Sports Fashion, Berkeley Group Holdings, St. James's Place, Games Workshop and WPP are also notably higher.
DCC is down by about 5%. Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Segro, Haleon, Diageo, British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands are down 1 to 1.7%.
Data from the British Retail Consortium showed U.K. retail sales grew strongly in April largely due to the timing of the Easter and good weather conditions. Total retail sales increased 7% on a yearly basis in April in contrast to the 4% decline in the same period last year.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics showed the U.K. unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in the three months to March, in line with expectations, from 4.4% in the preceding period.
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