BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks are turning in a mixed performance Tuesday morning in cautious trading with investors reacting to some corporate news and awaiting fresh data from the region and elsewhere for directional clues.
The benchmark FTSE 100, moving in a tight band between 10,130.35 and 10,150.18, was down 7.25 points or 0.07% at 10,133.45 a little while ago.
Whitbread shares are up 5% as pressure on margins eased after the company said the impact of the UK budget on costs would be lower than previously expected.
Diageo gained nearly 2% on reports the company is reviewing options for its China business, including a potential sale.
Mondi is gaining 2.6%, and British Land is up 1.8%. Pershing Square Holdings, Tesco, Informa, Barclays, Prudential, Marks & Spencer, BP, Land Securities Group, Segro and Shell are up 1 to 1.6%.
Games Workshop is declining by nearly 3%. Rentokil Initial is down 1.9%, while Admiral Group, Endeavour Mining and ICG are down 1.6 to 1.7%.
BAE Systems is down with a loss of 1.1%. Centrica, Severn Trent, Smith & Nephew, Airtel Africa, GSK, United Utilities, Entain, National Grid and AstraZeneca are also notably lower.
UK retail sales grew at a slower pace in December despite festive season as consumers cut back spending on higher household bills, the British Retail Consortium said Tuesday.
Total retail sales increased 1.2% in December from the previous year compared to an annual growth of 3.2% in the same period last year.
Food sales rose 3.1% on a yearly basis, while non-food sales decreased 0.3%. In-store non-food sales dropped 0.5% and online non-food sales fell 0.1%.
The online penetration rate increased to 38.6% in December from 38.5% in the last year.
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