April 7 (Reuters) - UK shares advanced on Tuesday following the long weekend break, boosted by energy and consumer staples stocks ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran showed no sign of agreeing to Trump's demand that it open the strait by the end of Tuesday or suffer massive attacks on its civilian infrastructure, in what would be the biggest escalation yet of the war.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 10,444.1 points by 1042 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.8%.
* Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. in Washington (midnightGMT and 3:30 a.m. in Tehran) to end its blockade of Gulf oil. * Trading in the UK picks up on Tuesday after a long weekendbreak where markets were shut for the Good Friday and EasterMonday holidays. * The blue-chip index is set for its fifth straight day ofgains, briefly hitting its highest level in over a month. * Media stocks were among the top gainers, jumping 2.5%;shares of advertising firm WPP climbed 7.4%. * Oil and gas climbed 0.7%; shares of giants BP and Shellwere up 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively. * Consumer staples heavyweights Unilever and BritishAmerican Tobacco rose 1% each. Both were among the biggestboosts to the FTSE 100. * Aerospace and defence lagged, declining 1.8%; shares ofRolls-Royce were down 2.4%. * On the data front, a survey showed that businesses inBritain's services sector reported the biggest month-on-monthjump in costs in March since 2021. * A U.S. inflation reading due later this week would be oninvestors' radar for more clues on the Federal Reserve'sinterest rate path.(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
