The index inched up 0.1% this morning after receiving a small boost from British retail sales, which gained 0.5% in April from March, the Office for National Statistics said today. This is higher than the 0.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters. However, retail sales volumes in April were still 3.0% lower than a year earlier.

Among stocks, Rio Tinto climbed 3.5% after brokerage Morgan Stanley upgraded to stock to Overweight.

AstraZeneca gained 0.6% % after announcing that a combination of its drugs and chemotherapy showed positive results in the treatment of endometrial cancer.

 

Things to read today:

Britain is not America — and the right shouldn’t forget it (Financial Times)

In Debt-Limit Fight, Biden Scores a Win on Defense Spending (Bloomberg)