U.K. stocks finished lower on Friday, driven by declines in the Industrial Engineering, Household Goods & Home Construction and Chemicals sectors that weighed on the market at the close in London.
The U.K. 100 index dropped 1.24% to close at a new one-month low.
Among the top performers on the U.K. 100, Rightmove PLC (LON:RMV) led gains, rising 5.53% or 24.40 points to finish at 466.00. Auto Trader Group Plc (LON:AUTOA) added 4.68% or 22.10 points to end at 494.80, and BAE Systems PLC (LON:BAES) climbed 2.98% or 64.00 points to 2,214.00 in late trade.
On the downside, Kingfisher PLC (LON:KGF) fell 5.15% or 17.70 points to close at 325.70. Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) declined 5.00% or 169.00 points to end the session at 3,210.00, while Vistry Group PLC (LON:VTYV) dropped 4.64% or 21.80 points to 448.20.
Decliners outnumbered advancers on the London Stock Exchange by 1,139 to 609, with 553 shares finishing unchanged.
Vistry Group shares slipped to five-year lows, down 4.64% or 21.80 points to 448.20 at the close.
In commodities trading, April gold futures rose 1.34% or 67.91 to $5,146.61 a troy ounce. April crude oil futures advanced 11.32% or 9.17 to settle at $90.18 a barrel, and the May Brent contract increased 8.37% or 7.15 to trade at $92.56 a barrel.
On the currency front, GBP/USD was effectively unchanged, moving 0.32% to 1.34, while EUR/GBP was similarly flat, changing 0.38% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.34% to 98.97.
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