FTSE 100 Holds Steady as Investors Weigh Earnings Reports
(Reuters) -Britain's benchmark stocks index ended flat on Thursday, as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings, amid hopes of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
Rolls-Royce was among the top performers on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, up 1.7% after the jet engine maker said it could offset global tariffs to meet 2025 profit targets.
The aerospace and defence index gained 1.1%.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread jumped 5.8% on a share buyback plan and an upbeat bookings outlook, boosting the travel and leisure index, which led sectoral gains with a 3.4% rise.
Informa advanced 4.2% as the events and academic publishing group reaffirmed its 2025 outlook.
Haleon gained 3.3% after the consumer healthcare group raised its medium-term profit forecast.
Keeping gains in check, Lloyds Banking Group dropped 2.7%, after reporting a near 7% drop in first-quarter profit.
National Grid fell 1.1% after the company said CEO John Pettigrew was stepping down.
The midcap index gained 1.3%.
Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo soared 22.2%, the biggest rise on the index, after Washington and Kyiv struck a minerals deal.
While mostly positive quarterly results helped calm the market, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said that the U.S. had approached China seeking talks over President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs, potentially signalling Beijing's openness to negotiations.
Back home, British homebuyers increased their mortgage borrowing by the most in nearly four years in March as they rushed to beat the end of a tax break, but Bank of England data also showed signs of caution among consumers.
Meanwhile, investors added to their bets on BoE interest rate cuts over the remainder of this year and short-dated government bond yields fell sharply ahead of the central bank's meeting next week.
Separate data showed British factory exports shrank at their sharpest pace in almost five years and cost pressures intensified in April.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru. Editing by Leroy Leo and Mark Potter)
