Consumer stocks lift UK indexes as investors await US-Iran talks

By Reuters News

Sept 22 (Reuters) - UK's equity indexes edged higher on Tuesday as gains in consumer stocks offset weakness in energy shares, while investors awaited potential US-Iran talks.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 0.20% to 10,760.01 points by 1011 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC climbed 0.65%.

  • Oil prices fell 1%, paring gains from earlier in the session, after Kyodo news reported that Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. Energy stocks .FTNMX601010 were down 1.4%, with BP BP.L and Shell SHEL.L down 2.2% and 0.8%, respectively. O/R

  • Investors are awaiting developments on potential US-Iran talks at the United Nations General Assembly this week after more supplies emerged through the strait over the weekend.

  • Defensive consumer stocks offered support to the main index with British American Tobacco BATS.L and Unilever ULVR.L rising about 1% each.

  • Industrial metal miners .FTNMX551030 also advanced 1.3% after copper prices rose. Copper miners Anglo American AAL.L and Antofagasta ANTO.L climbed 2.7% and 3.4%, respectively. MET/L

  • Among other stocks, home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L climbed 9.2% after it raised its full-year profit guidance following a 9.9% increase in first-half earnings, and said it won market share in the UK, Poland and Spain.

  • British engineering firm Smiths Group SMIN.L rose 6.5% after it beat expectations for its full-year operating profit and launched a process to sell its US asbestos liability.

  • M&C Saatchi SAA.L fell 6.1% after the advertising group's like-for-like net revenue fell 1.4% to £86.2 million, hurt by Middle East weakness and lower UAE advertising revenue.

  • Cell and gene therapy manufacturer Oxford Biomedica OXB.L slipped 1.4% after its gross margin fell to 37% from 43% due to product and client mix changes.

  • On the data front, Britain's government borrowed more than expected in August, official data showed, pushing the financial year-to-date deficit further above forecasts and adding pressure on finance minister John Healey ahead of his first budget.

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