BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks are modestly higher in early afternoon trades on Thursday amid easing tensions about the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Positive reaction to NATO's decision to increase its defense spending target from 2% to 5% of GDP over the next ten years is contributing as well to market's positive move.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 34.00 points or 0.39% at 8,752.75 about an hour past noon.
Anglo American Plc shares are gaining more than 8%. 3i Group is up nearly 5%. The investment manager said that its majority-owned business, Action, continued to perform 'strongly', with like-for-like sales growth of 6.9% in the year to date.
Glencore and Antofagasta are up 4.5% and 4.4%, respectively. St. James's Place, JD Sports Fashion, Fresnillo, DCC, Entain, Rio Tinto, BAE Systems, Mondi and Spirax Group are advancing 2 to 3.5%.
British American Tobacco, Experian, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Melrose Industries, Admiral Group, Persimmon, Unilever, Centrica, Reckitt Benckiser and Haleon are up with sharp to moderate losses.
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