BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks advanced on Wednesday after Britain and the European Union agreed on the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol and U.K. Brexit supremo, Michael Gove, told Sky News that there is now a 'smoother glidepath' towards a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heading to Brussels this afternoon in a last-ditch bid to make a breakthrough in trade negotiations.
The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 33 points, or half a percent, to 6,592 after finishing marginally higher in the previous session.
Electra Private Equity rallied 2.3 percent after its full-year pretax loss narrowed on a revenue basis.
Land Securities gained more than 2 percent after finalizing a new management team.
Tesco advanced 1.7 percent. The retailer said it expects to complete the $10.6 billion sale of its Asian businesses to CP Group on Dec. 18.
Transport group Stagecoach Group surged 6.7 percent after saying it has seen a 'significant recovery' of usage and commercial revenue since May lockdown.
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