Britain's FTSE catches up on trade rally

LONDON: British shares rose on Tuesday morning after a public holiday, catching up with a rally that lifted global markets after the United States and Mexico struck a trade agreement.

At 0804 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.7 percent at 7633 points, rising roughly twice as fast as the broader general European market where the STOXX 600 added 0.3 percent.

"London returns from a three-day weekend and the FTSE has some catching up to do after a positive close for European markets on Monday," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at LCG.

Gains in financials, consumer staples and miners contributed the most to the British blue chip index in an otherwise quiet day on the front of corporate news.

The mood was not even dented when the pound fell to a near one-year low against the euro after British Prime Minister Theresa May said that failing to secure a deal with the European Union before Britain leaves the bloc next year "wouldn't be the end of the world".

United Arab Emirates-based healthcare provider NMC Health   posted the best performance, up 3.4 percent after denying media reports of acquisition plans in India.

Melrose Industries gained 2.4 percent. The British turnaround firm plans to divest one of its U.S.-based units fell through, the Times reported on Tuesday.

British business supplies distributor Bunzl's added 1.8 percent after it reported that first-half profit rose 3.9 percent, driven by gains from recent acquisitions and higher demand from North America.

Plastics packager RPC Group added 1.1 percent after it announced the sale of Letica Corp's food-service packaging business to Graphic Packaging.