FTSE 100 Holds Steady As Oil Hits $50 A Barrel

(RTTNews) - U.K. shares traded flat in lackluster trade on Thursday, even as a weaker dollar boosted commodities such as copper and oil.

Amid lack of key triggers, investors await a slew of U.S. economic reports due later in the day and a speech by Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen on Friday for clues to the U.S. rate outlook.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 4 points or 0.07 percent at 6,267 in midday trading after gaining 0.7 percent the previous day.

Energy giant BP Plc rose 0.7 percent and Royal Dutch Shell advanced 0.9 percent as oil prices breached the $50 a barrel mark for the first time since November.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto climbed 2-4 percent as copper rose for a third straight session.

Food ingredients maker Tate & Lyle gained 2 percent after reporting a rise in fiscal 2016 pretax profit. Daily Mail and General Trust shares slumped 9 percent. The company reported a decline in first-half profit and warned that a weak print advertising market will squeeze margins in the media business.

Water utility United Utilities Group dropped 1.5 percent after reporting a substantial drop in full-year underlying profits.

On a relatively light day on the economic front, official data showed that the U.K. economy expanded as initially estimated in the first quarter.

Gross domestic product grew 0.4 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, unrevised from the estimate published on April 27. On an annual basis, GDP climbed 2 percent instead of 2.1 percent estimated previously.