British Equities Rebound, Tariff Concerns Persist

(Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday, bouncing back from a near three-week low hit in the previous session, though sentiment remained cautious ahead of potential U.S. reciprocal tariffs.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.75% as of 1011 GMT; the midcap FTSE 250 index also gained 0.95%.

Among index sectors, heavyweight healthcare advanced 1.6%, with drugmaker AstraZeneca climbing 1.7% after reporting positive results from the Phase IIb trial of its cholesterol reduction drug.

Industrial miners also rose 1.4% as London copper prices rebounded from a two-week low, buoyed by positive Chinese economic data.

Business minister Jonathan Reynolds said on Tuesday Britain is still hopeful that any tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump will be reversed shortly, if the two sides can agree the outline of a new economic partnership.

Global markets have been unsettled by Trump's planned tariffs, which has stoked fears of an economic downturn.

On the data front, British manufacturers endured a torrid March as the U.S. tariff threat and looming tax increases at home contributed to a plunge in new orders and ebbed optimism, a business survey showed on Tuesday.

Separate data showed house prices were flat in March and the market is likely to stay soft after a tax increase on property transactions.

Meanwhile, grocery price inflation edged higher in March, industry data showed on Tuesday, putting more pressure on consumers' budgets at a time when they are facing several other cost increases.

Greencore jumped 5.3% to lead the gains on the midcap index after the convenience food manufacturer said it expects annual adjusted operating profit to be higher than current market expectations and in the range of 112 million pounds - 115 million pounds ($144.6-$148.5 million).

Supermarket group Sainsbury dropped 3%, making it the FTSE 100's biggest loser, after brokerage Exane BNP Paribas cut its rating to neutral from outperform.

Travis Perkins led the declines on the midcap index as the building materials supplier warned of flat profits this year, falling short of analyst expectations. Shares fell 7%.

($1 = 0.7746 pounds)

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)