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FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 off 0.1%
April 21 (Reuters) - Britain's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 index struggled for direction in early trading on Friday, with losses in industrial miners countering gains in consumer staples and healthcare stocks. The FTSE 100 traded flat, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was down 0.1%, as of 0715 GMT. Industrial miners slid 2.4%, led by a 3.8% fall in Rio Tinto after JP Morgan cut its target price for the miner.
Miners also tracked weakness in copper prices amid weak demand outlook, while Glencore lost 1.1% after it reported lower copper, zinc and nickel production for the first quarter. British consumers were their most upbeat in more than a year in April, despite the surging cost of living, while another set of data showed UK's retail sales fell by a bigger-than-expected 0.9% in March from February.
Defensive sectors like food, beverage and tobacco and pharmaceuticals added 0.3% each,
limiting declines.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
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