U.K. stocks finished Friday's session in positive territory, supported by strength in the Software & Computer Services, Aerospace & Defense and Media sectors.
At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 index rose 0.93% to record a new three-month high.
Top and bottom movers
- Sage Group PLC (LON:SGE) led gains on the index, increasing 4.46% - a move of 36.60 points - to close at 858.20.
- Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LON:RR) added 4.17% or 56.60 points to finish at 1,415.60.
- Relx PLC (LON:REL) was up 3.77%, a rise of 92.39 points, ending the session at 2,543.39.
- Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF) was the weakest on the session among those highlighted, falling 3.30% or 11.40 points to 334.20 at the close.
- BP PLC (LON:BP) declined 1.35%, a drop of 7.50 points, to 548.40.
- Vodafone Group PLC (LON:VOD) slipped 1.33% or 1.55 points to close at 114.60.
Market breadth and broader moves
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the London Stock Exchange, with 1,010 stocks rising versus 648 falling. A total of 597 issues finished unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
Gold futures for August delivery moved higher, up 0.72% or 29.05 to trade at $4,079.25 a troy ounce. Oil saw a notable pullback: crude for September delivery fell 4.06% or 3.74 to $88.45 a barrel, while the September Brent contract dropped 4.54% or 4.57 to $96.12 a barrel.
In currency markets, GBP/USD was effectively unchanged, quoted at 1.33 with a 0.21% change reported, and EUR/GBP was stated as unchanged at 0.85 with a 0.13% move. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 101.18.
Overall, Friday's session saw a positive bias across the primary U.K. benchmark as sector-specific strength outweighed pressures in energy-related names and select emerging-market exposed stocks.