FTSE 100 opened 26 points higher at 10,585 amid positive sentiment in global equities following hopes of a US-Iran peace agreement. Another factor is steady oil prices. Brent crude futures dropped 0.5% to $94.49 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 0.8% at $90.59 a barrel.
In early trade, Tesco rose 3.2% as it reported profit ahead of expectations. Adjusted operating profit jumped 0.6% to £3.15 billion from its previous guidance of £2.9-£3.1 billion, as sales excluding fuel gained 4.3% to £66.6 billion and like-for-like sales increased 3.5%.
Free cash flow stands at £1.96 billion, up 11.8% and exceeding its guidance between £1.4 billion and £1.8 billion.
Entain advanced 4.62% to £612 and Halma gained 3.11% to £4,314, while Metlen Energy & Metals rose 2.62% to £35.98.
Also, JD Sports Fashion jumped 2.38% to £77.40 and Sainsbury's increased 2.27% to £356.40.
On the downside, British American Tobacco declined 1.11% to £4,153, while Imperial Brands dipped 0.67% to £2,811 and Games Workshop Group fell 0.44% to £19,435.
Also, Shell declined 0.52% to £3,328.50.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the economy grew 0.5% in the three months to February.
GDP improved from 0.3% in the three months to January, revised from 0.2% in the previous estimate, and showed no growth in the three months to December, revised down from 0.1%.
ING’s James Smith said, “the 0.5% rise in GDP over February was consistent with a trend which dates back to 2022, where growth has tended to come in much stronger in the first quarter than over the rest of the year”.
Recruiter Hays has reported a fall in fees across a majority of its operating regions in the last quarter amid cost-cutting. Net fees for the first three months of the year plunged 11% in Germany and 10% in the UK and Ireland.
Meanwhile, globally, fees fell 6%. The company said it secured £30 million in structural savings in the first nine months of the full year and is on track to achieve a target of £45 million per year by 2029.
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In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.85% to 6,204.7 points with a year-to-date gain of 44%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also rose 2.5% to 59,597.6. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai’s Composite rose 1.5% and and 0.4% respectively. The CSI 300 also inched up 0.8%. In India, the Nifty 50 rose 0.2%.
In the US, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to above 7,000 for the first time, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.6% to also hit its own record high, while the Dow Jones backed 0.2%.
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