London stocks rose in early trade Friday following solid US and Asian sessions, as comments from a US Federal Reserve official and encouraging Chinese data underpinned the mood.
At 0820 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,961.22, with sentiment boosted after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said he was in favour of “slow and steady” quarter-point US rate increases to limit risk to the economy.
The latest data out of China also helped, as it showed that activity in the services sector picked up more than expected in February amid a recovery in demand.
The Caixin services purchasing managers’ index rose to 55.0 from 52.9 in January. This was above consensus expectations for a reading of 54.5 and comfortably above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion.
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