BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - UK stocks turned in a mixed performance Tuesday morning with investors largely making cautious moves, reacting to the nation's unemployment data, and also weighing the possibility of a fresh round of U.S.-Iran peace talks.
The FTSE 100 was up 7.69 points or 0.07% at 10,616.77 nearly half an hour before noon.
SSE climbed nearly 4.5%. British Land Company shares advanced nearly 3% The real estate group said it now expects fiscal 2027 underlying EPS of at least 30.5 pence, ahead of previous guidance of at least 30.2 pence.
Compass Group, Centrica, RELX, Experian, Standard Life, 3i Group, LSEG, Intertek Group, Polar Capital Technology Trust, ICG, Pershing Square Holdings, Scottish Mortgage, JD Sports Fashion, The Sage Group, Burberry Group and Legal & General moved up 1.3%-3%.
Associated British Foods shed about 3% after first half adjusted profit fell 18%.
Rolls-Royce Holdings and BAE Systems lost 2.5% and 2%, respectively.
Coca-Cola HBC, Melrose Industries, M&G, British American Tobacco, Endeavour mining, GSK and Imperial Brands lost 1%-1.4%.
In economic news, the UK unemployment rate dropped and wage growth eased in the three months to February, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
The jobless rate stood at 4.9% in the December to February period, down from 5.2% in the previous three-month period. The rate was expected to remain stable at 5.2%.
The employment rate dropped marginally to 75% from 75.1% in the November to January period.
Data showed that the annual growth in employees' average earnings, excluding bonuses, eased to 3.8% from 4.1%. Including bonuses, the yearly growth also softened to 3.6% from 3.8%.
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