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FTSE 100 Marginally Higher As Miners Surge On US Debt Deal Hopes
(RTTNews) - U.K. shares were seeing marginal gains on Friday after official data showed U.K. retail sales recovered in April driven by food and non-food turnover.
The retail sales volume increased 0.5 percent month-on-month, in contrast to the 1.2 percent fall in March. Sales were forecast to grow more moderately by 0.3 percent.
On a yearly basis, retail sales dropped at a slower pace of 3.0 percent, in line with expectations, after a 3.9 percent decrease in March.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 6 points at 7,578 after closing 0.7 percent lower on Thursday.
Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all jumped around 3 percent on U.S. deal optimism.
AstraZeneca gained half a percent after a combination of its cancer drugs Imfinzi and Lynparza showed positive results in a late-stage trial.
UK Commercial Property REIT, a real estate investment trust, added nearly 2 percent. The company has sold its Webley Logics Asset in London measuring 186,455 sq ft for 74 million pounds to Covent Garden IP Limited, a registered charity.
Australian Market Modestly Higher
China Shares May Open Under Pressure On Thursday
Renewed Selling Pressure Expected For Taiwan Shares
Singapore Bourse May Run Out Of Steam On Thursday
Losing Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market
Japan Stock Market May Extend Wednesday's Losses
KOSPI Likely To Remain Rangebound
