Investing.com - U.K. stock markets rose Thursday, helped by rising optimism of a deal to lift the U.S. debt ceiling, although both BT Group and Burberry slumped after announcing quarterly results.
At 04:55 ET (08:55 GMT), the benchmark FTSE 100 index traded 0.7% higher, the mid-cap FTSE 250 climbed 0.4% and the combined FTSE 350 rose 0.6%.
U.K. shares, like their European counterparts, have benefited from a wave of optimism that a U.S. debt ceiling deal could be reached as soon as the weekend, removing the potential for a disastrous U.S. default, which would have had severe repercussions globally.
President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy have agreed to negotiate a deal directly, a move which has generated hope that the pair will be able to put aside the political differences of the two sides.
"It is possible to get a deal by the end of the week," McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday. "It's not that difficult to get to an agreement."
That said, the main U.K. indices have underperformed those in Europe after the heavily weighted BT Group (LON:BT) announced plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade as part of plans to slash costs.
The telecoms giant also reported a 12% drop in pretax profits to £1.7 billion (£1 = $1.2439) for the year to the end of March, resulting in its stock slumping over 9%.
Burberry (LON:BRBY) stock also fell 6% after the luxury fashion brand reported an increase in full-year revenue and sales as demand from China rebounded, but a weak performance in the U.S. has cast a shadow over the results.
EasyJet (LON:EZJ) stock rose 0.7% after the budget airline narrowed its losses in the first half of the year, and profited from a profitable summer season as travellers seem prepared to cut down on other expenses to pay for their holidays.
Aston Martin (LON:AML) stock soared 12% after the luxury car maker announced that China’s Geely Automobile Holdings (HK:0175) will double its stake, providing more cash for the iconic brand to secure its future.
Elsewhere, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, while in Japan for the upcoming G-7 summit, said his U.K. government is in talks with the European Union about Brexit-related rules to do with looming tariffs on car makers.
“We are engaged in a dialog with the EU about how we might address those concerns when it comes to auto manufacturing more generally,” Sunak said.
This follows warnings from Stellantis (EPA:STLAM), the Vauxhall maker, earlier this week that it will close British car plants with the loss of thousands of jobs unless the Brexit deal is swiftly renegotiated.