FTSE 100 Gains After Jobs Data
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks edged up slightly on Tuesday while the British pound steadied as data showed the U.K. job market is cooling.
Average earnings in the U.K. grew better than expected in March and the jobless rate rose slightly, while the fall in employment was less than expected and vacancies continued to decline, giving more evidence of a cooling labor market to Bank of England that is preparing to lower interest rates soon.
Wages excluding bonuses grew 6.0 percent year-on-year in the January to March period, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 13 points, or 0.2 percent, at 8,428 after closing 0.2 percent lower on Monday.
In corporate news, mining giant Anglo American fell 2.7 percent after it unveiled plans to offload several assets as part of a turnaround effort.
Vodafone rallied 3.1 percent as the telecom operator reported a 2.2 percent rise in organic earnings for 2024.
Gambling giant Flutter Entertainment fell nearly 2 percent on reporting a wider quarterly net loss.
