FTSE 100 Advances; Persimmon, Marks & Spencer Among Top Gainers

(RTTNews) - Despite data showing an increase in the nation's unemployment rate, U.K. stocks are up in positive territory a little past noon on Tuesday on selective buying amid some optimism over the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks in London.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 45.67 points or 0.52% at 8,877.95 a little while ago.

Persimmon is gaining about 4.7%. Marks & Spencer, Barratt Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Rentokil Initial, Segro, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Shell are up 2 to 4.1%.

Berkeley Group Holdings, Melrose Industries, Centrica, BP, Land Securities, RightMove, Bunzl, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Compass Group, Unite Group, Imperial Brands and Pershing Square Holdings are also up with strong gains.

Diageo, which rose sharply in early trades, pared most of its gains, and was up 0.7% a little while ago. The stock moved up on reports the company may sell part or all of IPL Team Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which is owns through United Spirits.

Barclays is down 1.1% on reports that the British lender is preparing to cut more than 200 jobs in its investment bank in the coming days. Standard Chartered, Kingfisher, Endeavour Mining, GSK and Fresnillo are down 1 to 1.6%.

Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the UK unemployment rate rose slightly in the three months to April period and wage growth softened as the rise in social security contribution and the minimum wage started to weigh on the labor market activity.

The ILO jobless rate rose to 4.6% in the three months to April, as expected, from 4.5% in the three months to March. Average earnings excluding bonuses climbed 5.2% from a year ago but slower than the forecast of 5.5%.

Including bonuses, average earnings grew at a slower pace of 5.3% in the three months to April from the previous year. The rate came in line with expectations.

British Chambers of Commerce Deputy Director Public Policy Jane Gratton said the increase in employment costs for business appears to be starting to bite with today's data showing a rise in unemployment.

Gratton noted that the steep increase in national insurance and the national living wage have undoubtedly delivered a shock of businesses.

She noted that vacancies continued to decrease and wage growth continued to outpace inflation, adding further cost pressures for firms already facing rising overheads.