Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, supported by a string of upbeat results from industry giants including Unilever and British American Tobacco, while industrial metal miners climbed on a softer dollar.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 climbed 0.2% by 8:11 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 added 0.4%.

Shares in Unilever rose 3.1% after the Dove soap maker reported a rise in fourth-quarter sales and launched a 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) share buyback program.

The broader personal care, drug and grocery stores index rose 1.7% on the news, leading sectoral gains.

British American Tobacco advanced 4.6% to the top of FTSE 100 after the Dunhill maker forecast low-single digit organic revenue growth in 2024, and a full-year profit beat.

Shares in catering group Compass climbed 2.5% on a rise in first-quarter organic revenue and better-than-expected like-for-like volume.

FTSE 100 flat; precious metal miners offset gains in homebuilders

The industrial metal miners also advanced 0.8% as markets tracked upbeat sentiment in Chinese equities amid a softer dollar.