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FTSE 100 up 0.4%, FTSE 250 adds 0.3%
Feb 14 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday, boosted by gains in defensive stocks and as soft drinks bottler Coca-Cola HBC jumped on positive earnings, ahead of a key U.S. inflation data.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.4%, hitting a fresh all-time high, with Coca-Cola HBC AG jumping 2.7% to the top of the index after reporting a better-than-expected full-year operating profit.
Defensive stocks, such as healthcare and consumer staple shares, rose in early trading. Unilever and Tesco gained 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. Investors would be focussed on the U.S. consumer price index data, due later in the day, that could influence the Federal Reserve's stance on future monetary policy tightening.
Data in the UK showed the pace of growth in basic pay in Britain sped up again in the last three months of 2022, while domestic unemployment rate held steady in the three months to December, with finance minister Jeremy Hunt saying figures showed a sign of resilience in the nation's labour market.
The FTSE 250 midcap index gained 0.3%.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen
Soreng)
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