U.K. stocks traded higher on Tuesday as investors cheered impressive earnings updates from the likes of HSBC and Hargreaves. Traders also welcomed data from the Bank of England showing that the number of mortgages approved by British lenders rose to an 18-month high in March.
U.K. stocks were sharply higher on Friday as higher commodity prices lifted mining and energy stocks. In economic releases, the U.K. economy posted a meagre growth in February, the Office for National Statistics reported earlier today.
U.K. stocks were slightly lower on Monday ahead of a short week of trading before the long Easter weekend. The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 8 points, or 0.1 percent, at 7,923 after rising 0.
U.K. stocks traded lower on Wednesday as HSBC Holdings reported a plunge in fourth-quarter profit after a charge on Chinese bank stake. In economic releases, Britain registered budget surplus in January, which was the largest since records began in 1993, the Office for National Statistics reported.