FTSE 100 Inches Higher In Cautious Trade

U.K. stocks edged up slightly on Thursday, a day after the government announced cuts to income tax and fuel duty to support consumer purchasing power.

The benchmark FTSE 100 inched up 20 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,481 after closing 0.2 percent lower on Wednesday.

Next Plc shares fell nearly 3 percent. The fashion retailer cut it profits and sales forecasts for 2022/23, citing the ongoing war in Ukraine and slowing growth.

Playtech rallied 2.3 percent. The gambling software development company reported that its fiscal 2021 post-tax profit was 686.7 million euros, compared to last year’s loss of 73.1 million euros.

Private equity firm 3i Group was moving lower. The company reported that its largest portfolio company Action generated fiscal 2021 net sales of 6.83 billion euros, up 23 percent from last year.