Britain's FTSE jumps 0.4 Percent; Vodafone gets biggest boost

Britain's FTSE 100 edged higher on Tuesday as Vodafone gained on plans of bond issuance and exporter stocks benefited from a strong dollar, while Intertek slipped as investors booked in profits after in-line results.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.4 per cent outperforming its euro-zone peers and the FTSE 250 was roughly flat by 0904 GMT. Vodafone was the biggest boost to the main bourse as it added 2.2 per cent after saying it intends to raise about four billion euros by issuing mandatory convertible bonds.

Dollar earners such as Unilever, AstraZeneca and Diageo also supported the FTSE 100. Capping gains were industrial firm Intertek, which slipped 3.2 per cent. A trader cited the fall to profit-taking after the company posted annual results.

Equipment rental firm Ashtead gave up 2.8 per cent after its third-quarter report. Ladbrokes owner GVC fell 1.5 per cent after posting full-year results and laying out plans to relocate servers hosting online gambling platforms to Ireland as part of its contingency plans for Brexit.

Phoenix Group, Europe's largest owner of life assurance funds closed to new customers, gained 2.5 per cent on the mid-cap index after it reported a higher full-year profit. Struggling department store group Debenhams tanked as much as 12 per cent after it withdrew its full-year outlook and said talks with stakeholders to restructure its balance sheet would likely be disruptive.