LONDON: London's FTSE 100 ended a volatile session higher on Tuesday as investors hedged with defensive stocks ahead of some keenly awaited events such as a US Federal Reserve meeting and a decision on a US stimulus plan. Consumer, real estate, healthcare and utility stocks led gains, offsetting declines in material stocks.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.4%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.7%. Massive global stimulus and hopes of an eventual Covid-19 vaccine have seen the FTSE 100 rally for the last three months, but it has struggled in July as surging coronavirus cases threaten a nascent economic recovery.

Among individual stocks, greeting card retailer Card Factory posted its best day in more than a month as sales at its stores since they reopened had exceeded expectations, while consumer products maker Reckitt Benckiser rose 1% on reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.

Despite posting a jump in sales, food-to-go retailer Greggs slumped 6.2%, as investors fretted about the impact of social distancing on sales volumes at re-opened stores. Mining majors BHP and Rio Tinto slipped as iron ore prices declined.