LONDON: Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday as gains in energy stocks were capped by losses in miners, while both indexes clocked gains for the holiday-shortened week.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, for a 0.7% weekly gain, its best in five weeks. The midcap FTSE 250 was down 0.4%, but clocked a weekly gain, of 0.6%, for the first time in three weeks.
Beverages led sectoral gains with a 1.4% rise while the energy sector rose 0.7% as oil prices nudged up on expectations of a stimulus-driven recovery in the world’s biggest oil importer, China.
Retailers led sector losses and slid 1.5%. Precious and industrial metal miners fell 0.8% and 0.5% respectively, as gold prices eased and copper remained steady.
Investors’ focus in the new year will be on President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, as investors remain uncertain whether Trump could extend his tariff threats to Britain as well.
At home, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ October budget announcement, which included 25 billion pounds ($31 billion) of tax increases for employers, added to uncertainty for businesses.
The focus will also remain on the Bank of England’s pace of interest-rate cuts, with the central bank already suggesting a gradual pace for its policy-easing cycle.
Traders estimate about 52 basis points worth of rate cuts by the end of 2025.
Despite the year being marred by a domestic economic slowdown, the FTSE 100 is set to log its fourth-straight year of gains and the FTSE 250 its second-straight increase.
Anglo American weighed the most on the benchmark index with a 1.7% decline. Chile’s environmental regulator filed charges against the miner’s major Los Bronces copper mine for noncompliance with environmental permits.
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