UK stocks climb on boost from auto, mining stocks after upbeat data

Ocado drops as chairman to step down next year

*

Britain's new car sales jump in March

*

UK service activity grows for fifth straight month

*

FTSE 100 up 0.5%, FTSE 250 adds 0.6%

April 4 (Reuters) - British stocks ended higher on Thursday, helped by auto stocks and mining shares, while data showing the domestic economy was on the verge of exiting recession further aided the mood.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to close at its highest level since Feb 2023, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 gained 0.6%.

The automobiles and parts index led sectoral gains with a 2.4% rise after data showed Britain's new car market recorded the best March since 2019 on the back of steady demand for fleet vehicles.

Precious metal miners gained 1.4% as the bullion scaled a fresh record high, while industrial metal miners rose 1.6% as copper prices rose to a 14-month high.

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index has recently benefited from a rally in copper, gold and oil prices, although it lags other developed economy peers which have clinched record highs this year.

Data indicating a U.S. soft landing and China recovery combined with a weaker Sterling should continue to boost UK exporters, said Morgane Delledonne, global head of investment strategy at Global X ETFs Europe.

"Lots of investors were waiting for a dovish pivot from the Bank of England (BoE) to take opportunities in attractively valued UK stocks."

The Bank of England is expected to follow other major central banks and cut interest rates in June or August as the latest data indicated an improving economy.

Two separate surveys on Thursday showed British companies' were expecting

selling prices and wage

increases to cool in the year ahead in March, while the British economy looked on track to

exit recession

when official growth data is next published.

A senior analyst with

S&P Global Ratings

said whoever wins the British election expected later this year will have to tread carefully to avoid jeopardising the country's already diminished credit rating with public finances under heavy strain.

Among individual stocks, Future Plc jumped nearly 16% to the top of the FTSE midcap index after the media firm said it expects to return to organic revenue growth in the second quarter.

Ocado slid 5% after the online supermarket said Chairman Rick Haythornthwaite will step down next year due to his "increasing commitment" at banking group NatWest.

NatWest shares gained nearly 3%. (Reporting by Pranav Kashyap, Khushi Singh and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Alexandra Hudson)