BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks advanced on Tuesday, with upbeat earnings updates from the likes of Vodafone and Kingfisher as well as optimism over lockdown easing plans helping underpin investor sentiment.
The benchmark FTSE 100 rose by 34 points, or 0.58 percent, to 5,974 after finishing marginally higher in the previous session.
Vodafone shares jumped as much as 9 percent. The world's second-largest mobile operator maintained its dividend payout after meeting full-year expectations with a 2.6 percent rise in core earnings.
Home improvement chain Kingfisher surged 4.6 percent. The company said underlying sales turned positive in the first week of May as more of its stores re-opened from coronavirus lockdowns.
Morrison Supermarkets rallied 3.2 percent as it reported sales growth in the first quarter despite 'highly volatile' trading and a worse-than-expected Easter due to the ongoing lockdown in the U.K.
Property developer Land Securities plunged 13 percent after reporting a big annual pretax loss.
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