- FTSE 100 down 0.05%, FTSE 250 rises 0.3%
- U.S. federal court blocks Trump's tariffs from going into effect
- Auto Trader Group drops after annual revenue miss
May 29 (Reuters) - British equities were mixed on Thursday as a U.S. court's decision to block President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs boosted sentiment, though losses in utilities and persistent trade concerns limited the gains.
As of 0952 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.05%, while the domestically focussed FTSE 250 rose 0.3%.
The Court of International Trade said Trump had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board tariffs on imports from U.S. trade partners.
Markets around the globe rose following the news.
The White House has appealed the decision, which could reach the Supreme Court, but investors welcomed the potential reprieve from tariff volatility that has persisted since April.
The UK was the first country to secure a limited bilateral trade agreement with the U.S., maintaining Trump's 10% tariffs on British exports while expanding agricultural access and lowering U.S. duties on car exports.
Luxury brand Burberry was among the top gainers on the mid-cap index on Thursday, advancing 2%.
Industrial metal miners' sub-index gained 0.2% as prices of metals in London rose.
Sub-index heavyweights Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta climbed between 1% and 2%
London-listed shares of Atalaya Mining Copper SA rose 5%.
Bond-proxy utilities were the biggest laggards on the blue-chip index, falling 2.5%, as the UK government bond yields inched higher on the day, tracking Eurozone peers.
National Grid and Severn Trent both shed more than 3%.
Shares of automotive platform Auto Trader tumbled 13.8% to a more than one-month low after missing annual revenue estimates.
Market sentiment received an additional boost after the world's most valuable semiconductor firm, Nvidia, beat estimates for first-quarter sales.
Back home, economic data showed business confidence in Britain's services sector hit a two-and-a-half-year low in the May quarter, with cost pressures rising partly due to employment tax rises.
Reporting by Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas
Source: Reuters