FTSE 100 Posts Longest Winning Streak In More Than 5 Years,
Entain gains after BetMGM swings to benefit
Deliveroo leaps 17% after DoorDash takeover proposal
FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 gains 0.6%
(Updates after markets close)
April 28 (Reuters) - British equities ended higher on Monday with heavyweight healthcare companies leading gains in the benchmark index, while U.S. trade policy advancements remained in focus.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was almost flat but published its 11th successive winning session. The index also published its longest winning streak given that December 2019.
The midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.6%.
Healthcare stocks acquired 1.1%, with AstraZeneca and GSK improving the greatest gains in the FTSE 100, up 1.2% and 1.4% respectively.
Market belief was supported by indications of alleviating U.S.-China trade tensions recently. However, uncertainties about the global trade war continued.
Entain finished up 6.8%, after the British betting firm's joint endeavor with MGM Resorts, BetMGM, swung to first-quarter earnings in an e-betting rise.
Deliveroo jumped 16.5%, leading the gains on the midcap index, after verifying on Friday that it had gotten a takeover proposition from U.S. peer DoorDash on April 5.
On the data side, British retail sales volumes fell by the tiniest quantity because October this month but stores expect conditions to get worse next month, according to a survey that showed concerns about growth and customer confidence.
Britain has actually proposed a broad statement of shared values with the European Union that emphasises support for Ukraine's territorial stability, the Paris Climate Agreement and open and free trade, according to a draft file seen by Reuters.
Although it does not mention the Trump administration by name, a number of elements of the text provide a striking contrast to current U.S. policies.
Separately, trade ministers of UK and India began 2 days of talks to conclude more than 3 years of negotiations on a trade pact, under extra pressure to reach an offer because of U.S. Trump's tariffs on exports to the U.S. (Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K, William Maclean)