BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks rose on Thursday, though markets came off from their day's highs on fears over the devastating impact coronavirus could have on the economy.
Meanwhile, after spending a third night in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a London hospital, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making steady progress, Downing Street said.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 12 points, or 0.23 percent, at 5,689 after hitting as high as 5,812 earlier in the day.
BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell were moving lower ahead of a meeting of the world's largest oil producers to discuss production cuts.
Redrow surged nearly 7 percent. The housebuilder has been confirmed as an eligible issuer for the Covid Corporate Financing Facility with an issuer limit of 300 million pounds.
Medical equipment manufacturing company Smith+Nephew rose half a percent after appointing Anne-Francoise Nesmes as its Chief Financial Officer.
Mondi fell 2.6 percent. The packaging and paper group scrapped dividend and unveiled plans to cut capital expenditure as it battles with the economic uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kenmare Resources rose 0.8 percent. The mining company stated that the COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on the Moma Mine's operations and as a result its production outlook for 2020 remains highly uncertain. The company has suspended its 2020 guidance.
In economic releases, U.K. house price balance declined sharply in March and prices are expected to fall further as lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus weighed on property market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.
The house price balance fell to +11 percent from +29 percent in February. The expected level was +10 percent.
The net balance of surveyors' expecting fall in house prices came in at -82 percent in March compared to 21 percent forecasting an increase in February.
The U.K. economy shrank unexpectedly in February due to a large fall in construction, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
Gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent month-on-month in February, confounding expectations for a monthly growth of 0.1 percent.
In three months to February, GDP grew 0.1 percent, following no growth in three months to January.
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