FTSE 100 Edges Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks advanced on Monday as data from property platform Zoopla suggested that U.K. house sales rose for the seventh consecutive month in April, driven by demand for smaller homes.

House prices experienced a growth of 1.9 percent in February, indicating a £5,318 increase over the past year.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 40 points, or half a percent, at 8,180 after adding 0.8 percent on Friday.

Mining giant Anglo American rose 1.3 percent as its board unanimously rejected a US$39Bn takeover bid from Australia-based BHP, saying the offer "significantly undervalues" the company and its future prospects and was "highly unattractive" for Anglo American's shareholders.

Oxford Biomedica shares jumped 6.4 percent. The cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization reported stability in its core business and reiterated its near-term and medium-term financial guidance.

Drug major AstraZeneca added 1.3 percent after announcing progress with two breast cancer treatments.