UK's FTSE 100 advanced on Thursday as bright forecasts from the likes of Rolls-Royce and the London Stock Exchange Group helped the blue-chip index buck the weakness in other European bourses due to the latest U.

British stocks ended mixed, with the FTSE 100 lifted by Rolls-Royce and LSEG's optimistic forecasts, while Ocado's slower rollout impacted the midcap index. Rolls-Royce shares surged as targets were raised,

Rolls-Royce has reinstated dividends and unveiled a £1bn share buyback programme as full-year profit comfortably beat expectations. The FTSE 100 engineering giant on Thursday proposed a 6p per share dividend for investors in what marks its first payout since before the pandemic.

British stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with bright forecasts from Rolls-Royce and the London Stock Exchange Group boosting the FTSE 100, while Ocado slid on disappointment over the roll-out of its robotic sites,

Shares in the engine manufacturer soared by more than 15% after it also said it would buy back about £1 billion of stock from investors.