16.04.202607:43:46UTC+00FTSE 100 Trades Cautiously Higher

The FTSE 100 inched higher on Thursday but was essentially flat for a sixth consecutive session, as investors continued to assess the uncertain outlook surrounding the Iran conflict and ongoing peace negotiations.

On the macroeconomic front, UK GDP expanded by 0.5% in February, comfortably beating expectations for a 0.1% increase.

Among individual stocks, Tesco advanced more than 3% after posting solid growth in both sales and profits, unveiling a £500 million share buyback, and widening its guidance range in light of geopolitical uncertainty. Entain gained over 4% after reaffirming its outlook for net gaming revenue growth.

Mining stocks also strengthened, with Rio Tinto up 2.2% and Anglo American rising 1.6%, supported by robust economic data from China.

On the downside, EasyJet fell more than 1.5% after issuing a cautious trading update that flagged uncertainty stemming from the Middle East conflict. Rentokil slipped around 1% despite reiterating its full-year guidance following a steady first-quarter performance.