There will be no UK equities report on Monday on account of a bank holiday. Reuters will resume coverage on Tuesday, May 7.

Updated at 1616 GMT

By Pranav Kashyap, Shubham Batra and Khushi Singh

May 3 (Reuters) -Britain's FTSE 100 hit a fresh record high on Friday, led by gains in homebuilder stocks, while softer-than-expected U.S. jobs data boosted investor sentiment.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE ended the session up 0.5%, after hitting a fresh recordhigh of 8,213.49 points earlier in the day. The FTSE 250 .FTMC touched its highest levels since February last year and ended 0.6% higher. Both indexes registered a second straight week of gains.

Signs of easing inflation, hopes of early interest rate cuts by the Bank of England and attractive prices have helped boost investorinterest in UK equities.

In the U.S., investors reacted favourably to the release of data showing slower-than-expected job growth and a dip in annual wage growth in April, which increased the likelihood that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates later this year.

Rate-sensitive homebuilders .FTNMX402020 led sectoral gains with a 4.3% jump.

Meanwhile, UK service companies saw their activity surge to the highest levelin almost a year in April despite increased cost pressures, signallingrobust economic growth.

AngloAmerican AAL.L advanced 1.2% after Reuters reported that Glencore GLEN.L was considering making an offer for the mining giant, a move that could spark a bidding war.

"Investors are salivating at the possibility that there will be this massive bidding war for Anglo American. All miners now are looking at copper, thinking about how much demand has surged, and they're looking to have the lion's share of the market," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

Shares of InterContinental Hotels Group IHG.L led declines on the FTSE 100 with a 2.1% drop after the company reported itsfirst-quarter results.

Trainline TRNT.L surged 6.6% to the top of FTSE 250 as the rail ticketing company said it sees strong net ticket sales growth.

Reporting by Pranav Kashyap, Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Sohini Goswami and Paul Simao

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