LONDON: British stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, as gains in heavyweight oil and gas company shares were offset by worries about the impact of US trade policies on global economic growth.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended flat but posted a 1.4% weekly drop, its biggest so far this year.
The midcap FTSE 250 index dipped 0.2%, and recorded its third consecutive week of declines.
Investors were on edge after the latest flip-flop in US trade policy, when President Donald Trump suspended tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Thursday that he had imposed only two days earlier, driving up market volatility.
Meanwhile, a bond selloff sparked by Germany’s plan for a massive shift to higher spending eased on the day, with the UK’s 10-year government bond yield pulling back from a one-month high.
The UK’s oil and gas sector gained 0.9% after the Russian Deputy Prime Minister suggested that OPEC+ could reverse its output increase after April.
Heavyweight Shell and BP gained about 1% each.
Schroders fell 5% reversing some of Thursday’s 12.6% gains, as the British money manager unveiled plans for cost reductions.
Burberry tumbled 6.8%, dragging down the personal goods sector, as worries about the economic impact of tariffs weighed on Europe’s luxury stocks.
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