BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks advanced on Wednesday and the pound extended a negative trend after British Prime Minister Theresa May set out what she called a 'new' Brexit deal for Britain's departure from the EU.
The deal offers the option of a parliamentary vote on holding a second referendum on her deal if it clears the Commons next month.
In economic releases, U.K. consumer price inflation accelerated in April, while output price inflation eased slightly, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed.
Consumer price inflation rose to 2.1 percent in April from 1.9 percent in March. Nonetheless, this was slightly slower than the forecast of 2.2 percent.
Output price inflation slowed slightly to 2.1 percent in April from 2.2 percent in March.
In a separate communiqué, the ONS said house prices increased 1.4 percent annually in March following a 1 percent rise in February.
U.K.'s public sector net borrowing in April was the lowest for the month since 2007, preliminary data showed.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 32 points or 0.44 percent at 7,361 in opening deals after closing 0.3 percent higher in the previous session.
Retailer Marks & Spencer tumbled 4.2 percent after it reported a 10 percent fall in full-year profit, marking a third straight decline.
Royal Mail jumped more than 5 percent after announcing it would introduce a second daily delivery of parcels, to be fully operational by 2023.
Online trading major IG Group Holdings soared nearly 13 percent as it unveiled a plan to drive growth.
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