London stocks rebound ahead of data-packed week

FILE PHOTO: Signage for the London Stock Exchange Group is seen outside of offices in Canary Wharf in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

(Reuters) - London stocks made a gentle comeback on Monday, offering a glimmer of hope to investors eagerly anticipating a week brimming with key economic data, while industrial metal miners bucked the trend.

By 07:12 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher at 8,162.29, after it marked its longest weekly losing streak in more than four years last week.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.2% at 20,152.36.

Both indexes are set to gain after falling for two consecutive sessions.

Investors held back from making big bets, ahead of a spate of domestic key economic data, including the consumer price index (CPI) figures, due through Wednesday and the Bank of England's policy meeting on Thursday to decide on its interest rates.

Among individual stocks, SSP Group fell 2.8%, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the airport food chain operator's stock to "Sell" from "Neutral".

Kingfisher Plc was up 0.1%, after the European home improvement group tapped British Land's Bhavesh Mistry as its next CFO. British Land lost 0.1%.

Industrial metal miners sub-index was the top loser among FTSE 350 sectors, after top consumer China reported weaker-than-expected industrial output in May. [MET/L].

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)