FTSE 100 Modestly Higher After Cautious Start

(RTTNews) - After struggling for direction early on in the session, the UK stock market gained some ground in positive territory Thursday morning as investors reacted to some earnings updates and data showing a faster pace of economic growth in the first quarter.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 27.15 points or 0.25% at 10,352.50 a little while ago.

Legal & General gained 5.2%. Relx, Barclays, Admiral Group, Imperial Brands and National Grid moved up 2%-2.2%.

Standard Life gained nearly 2%. British American Tobacco, Land Securities Group, Pearson, Reckitt Benckiser, Whitbread, St. James's Place, Smiths Group, Vodafone Group, M&G, Compass Group and Severn Trent gained 1%-1.8%.

Land Securities gained nearly 2% after forecasting further growth in rents after reporting full-year earnings in line with expectations.

National Grid moved higher after reporting stronger than expected full-year earnings.

3i Group shares tanked 12% after the company said the Middle East conflict would hurt its main investment, Action.

Burberry Group tumbled 5.6%. The British fashion house reported a 2% drop in full-year reported revenue despite profitability recovering markedly.

Babcock International and Coca-Cola HBC drifted down 2% and 1.7%, respectively. IAG, Tesco, Antofagasta and Metlen Energy & Metals lost 1%-1.2%.

In economic news, the UK economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter, driven by contribution from all three sectors, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday.

Gross domestic product increased 0.6% sequentially, following the fourth quarter's 0.2% expansion. The rate came in line with expectations.

The service sector led growth with an 0.8% expansion, while construction and industrial output grew 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.

In March alone, GDP grew at a pace of 0.3% after rising 0.4% in February, while economists had forecast a contraction of 0.1%.

In 2025, GDP advanced 1.4% compared to 1% growth in 2024.

Another data from ONS showed that the visible trade deficit widened to GBP 27.2 billion in March from GBP 22.8 billion in February. Exports grew only 0.1%, while imports surged 8.1%.