U.K. equities closed lower on Thursday, with weakness concentrated in the Financial Services, Mining and Aerospace & Defense sectors, dragging the main index down by 1.29% at the end of trading in London.
Index performance - The Investing.com United Kingdom 100 finished the session down 1.29%.
Top movers to the upside
- Next PLC (LON:NXT) was the session's strongest performer, rising 4.20% or 505.00 points to close at 12,540.00.
- BP PLC (LON:BP) added 2.82% or 16.00 points, ending the day at 583.10.
- JD Sports Fashion PLC (LON:JD) gained 1.19% or 0.82 points to finish at 69.90.
Largest decliners
- 3I Group PLC (LON:III) led losses, falling 17.66% or 493.00 points to close at 2,299.00.
- Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) dropped 6.48% or 225.00 points to end at 3,246.00.
- Aviva PLC (LON:AV) was down 5.32% or 33.20 points to 591.40 at the close.
On the London Stock Exchange, decliners outnumbered advancers by 1,144 to 665, while 489 stocks finished unchanged.
Shares of 3I Group PLC (LON:III) fell to 52-week lows, sliding 17.66% or 493.00 points to 2,299.00.
Commodities and energy - Precious metals and energy contracts moved in opposite directions during the session. Gold Futures for June delivery were down 3.49% or 159.83 to $4,425.67 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for May delivery rose 5.08% or 4.59 to $94.91 a barrel, and the June Brent oil contract increased 4.88% or 4.75 to trade at $102.01 a barrel.
Currency and dollar measures - Foreign exchange and dollar indicators saw modest changes: GBP/USD was unchanged 0.18% to 1.33, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.03% to 0.86. The US Dollar Index Futures rose 0.30% to 99.70.
Summary takeaways
- The broad market closed lower with the UK 100 down 1.29%.
- A mix of individual winners and sizable losers left market breadth tilted toward decliners.
- Commodities showed divergence - gold dropped sharply while crude and Brent rose appreciably.
This report presents the session's closing prices, percentage moves and market breadth figures as recorded at the close in London.