London stocks steady after five straight days of losses

A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville

June 14 (Reuters) – UK shares steadied on Tuesday, with some positive impetus from financial stocks and several strong earnings updates, a day after economic slowdown concerns dragged the main British indexes to their fifth straight session of losses.

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) was up 0.6% by 0712 GMT, with shares in British bank HSBC (HSBA.L) gaining 2.6% to provide the biggest boost to the blue-chip index.

Oil majors BP Plc (BP.L) and Shell Plc (SHEL.L) rose 1.5% and 0.8% respectively, tracking volatile crude prices.

The domestically-focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC) advanced 0.7%, after closing at its lowest level in more than three months on Monday.

Paragon Banking (PAGPA.L) gained 4.7% after upgrading its 2022 forecasts and flagging strong new lending growth.

FirstGroup (FGP.L) rose 1.2% after the transport company reported a bigger annual profit and resumed dividend payments, as passenger numbers on its buses improved after the relaxation of COVID-19 curbs.

Crest Nicholson (CRST.L) climbed 6.1% after forecasting fiscal year 2022 adjusted profit before tax of between 135 million pounds and 140 million pounds. The housebuilder reported an adjusted profit of 107.2 million pounds in 2021.

Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.