BP, trade war optimism help FTSE ends July on a high

MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) - Hopes that the United States and China would avert a trade war lifted global stock markets on Tuesday and helped British shares close on a six-week high and post a monthly gain for July.The FTSE 100closed up 0.6 percent on the day and up 1.5 percent in July as a Bloomberg report said representatives of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu were seeking to reengage negotiations."The energy sector was given a lift by strong results from BP, an