BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks shrugged off weak regional leads to edge higher on Tuesday, with financials and energy stocks leading the surge.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 37 points or 0.50 percent at 7,535 in opening deals after rallying around 1 percent on Monday.
Elsewhere, major markets in Germany and France were subdued after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that any trade deal with China would need to be somewhat tilted in favor of the United States, raising doubts over the U.S-China trade truce.
Also, the United States has intensified its fight with the European Union over aircraft subsidies, proposing tariffs on $4 billion of additional EU goods.
Asia-focused lender HSBC Holdings rose 0.8 percent, Standard Chartered gained 0.7 percent and Prudential added 0.8 percent.
BP Plc rose about 1 percent and Royal Dutch Shell gained half a percent after OPEC agreed to extend oil supply cuts until March 2020.
Advertising giant WPP fell over 2 percent. The company confirmed that it has entered into exclusive discussions to sell a majority shareholding in Kantar to Bain Capital for a headline enterprise value of about $4 billion.
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair Holdings advanced 0.6 percent after reporting growth in passenger traffic figures for June.
Hill & Smith Holdings gained 1 percent after it appointed Hannah Nichols as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board.
Jupiter Fund Management slumped 6.7 percent after the company said it is considering naming Devon Equity as an adviser for its European Opportunities Trust.
In economic releases, U.K. house prices increased at a slightly slower pace in June, data from Nationwide Building Society showed.
House prices rose 0.5 percent year-on-year in June, following a 0.6 percent increase in May. Nonetheless, this was faster than the expected 0.2 percent rise.
The U.K. construction sector contracted the most in more than a decade in June, survey data from IHS Markit revealed.
The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index fell unexpectedly to 43.1 in June from 48.6 in May. The reading was forecast to rise to 49.2.
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