BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The U.K. stock market's benchmark index FTSE 100 moved higher on Tuesday, lifted by strong gains in the FMCG sector after Unilever reported better-than-expected earnings and lifted full-year guidance.
Easing concerns about U.S.-Iran tensions also contributed to market's upmove.
The FTSE 100 was up 63.90 points or 0.59% at 10,845.65 nearly half an hour past noon.
Unilever climbed nearly 8%. The consumer goods company upgraded its full-year underlying sales growth guidance to the 4% to 6% range from its previous expectation of growth at the bottom end of the range, supported by around 3% underlying volume growth.
The company reported its best quarter of sales volume growth in 16 years and raised its annual sales outlook. Operating profit increased 2.6% to €4.885 billion in the first-half, from €4.762 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Underlying operating profit grew 0.9% year over year to €5.2 billion.
Admiral Group moved up by a little over 4%. Relx gained 3.6%, while Compass Group, Diageo, Imperial Brands, Croda International, Babcock International, Reckitt Benckiser, The Sage Group and Experian climbed 2.5%-3%.
3i Group, Haleon, BAE Systems, Autotrader Group, British American Tobacco, Coca-Cola HBC, BT Group, Whitbread, Sainsbury (J), Associated British Foods, Tesco, Metlen Energy Metals, Marks & Spencer and Land Securities Group gained 1.5%-2.5%.
Barclays Group shed more than 5% after reporting increased operating costs in the second quarter. Natwest Group and Lloyds Banking Group both eased by about 1.3%.
Lion Finance drifted down 3.6%. Games Workshop, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Centrica, Prudential, Glencore, Anglo American Plc., Weir Group and Halma also drifted notably lower.
In economic news, data from British Retail Consortium showed UK shop price inflation rose by 0.9% year-on-year in July 2026, falling short of market expectations for a 1.2% gain and marking the slowest increase since December 2025. The latest reading also slowed from a 1.2% rise in the previous month. On a monthly basis, shop prices fell 0.1%.
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