LONDON: Britain’s FTSE 100 clocked in biggest percentage gain since last October, as upbeat earnings from European luxury firms boosted shares of Burberry and Diageo, while investors took comfort from data that showed UK consumer sentiment hit a two-year high.
The FTSE 100 climbed 1.4% on Friday to log its first weekly gain of the year and the biggest in more than four months. The midcap FTSE 250 index also rose 0.6%, marking its biggest weekly gain in six weeks.
British luxury retailer Burberry climbed 4.9%, after French luxury giant LVMH reported a 10% rise in fourth-quarter sales, reassuring investors about the sector’s resilience to economic headwinds, particularly in China.
“LVMH’s latest update flagged slowing sales growth for its product range but the company struck a confident tone, giving a lift to luxury-related stocks,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. The personal goods sub-index jumped 4.2%, its biggest percentage jump in more than a month.
The beverages sub-index, the top sectoral performer, soared 4.6%, gaining support from a 5.1% rise in Johnnie Walker whisky maker Diageo shares after French spirits maker Remy Cointreau beat third-quarter sales expectations.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 1.1% higher, hitting its highest level in two years.
Adding to the upbeat sentiment, a survey showed British consumers were their most confident since January 2022 as lower inflation helped them to feel better about their finances.
Among individual stocks, Tullow Oil dropped 6.0% after Stifel downgraded the stock to “sell”.
Vodafone shares advanced 3.9% after the British government approved the telecom operator’s strategic relationship agreement with Abu Dhabi-based telecoms group e&. Shares in Superdry lost 2.6% after the fashion retailer said it did not expect market conditions to improve in the near term following a tough Christmas season, also adding that finance chief Shaun Wills would step down at the end of March.
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