Darktrace rallies after Thoma Bravo39;s buyout deal
U.S. PCE data due at 0830 ET
FTSE 100 up 0.4, FTSE 250 adds 1

April 26 Reuters Britain39;s FTSE 100 rose to another record high on Friday as strong earnings from U.S. tech giants buoyed investor sentiment, while cybersecurity firm Darktrace rallied following a buyout deal by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

The bluechip FTSE 100 was up 0.4, hitting a record for a fourth consecutive session. The index is set for its biggest weekly gain in more than seven months.

The combination of recovering earnings and reasonable prices continue to make things look quite attractive for the UK market, said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group.

Yesterdays earnings just reassure everybody. If you had a nasty miss from either or both of them, you would have been looking at a fairly different marketplace this morning, he said, referring to Alphabet and Microsoft.

Sentiment in Asian and broader European markets was optimistic after upbeat earnings from Wall Street tech titans Alphabet and Microsoft.

NatWest jumped 3.5 to touch a more than oneyearhigh after the British bank39;s firstquarter profit fell by a lessthanexpected 27.

Anglo American slipped 0.8 after it rejected BHP Group39;s 31.1 billion pound 38.88 billion takeover proposal, saying the bid significantly undervalued the Londonlisted miner and its future prospects. The stock had rallied 16 following BHP39;s offer on Thursday.

BHP39;s UKlisted stock fell 1.5….