LONDON: The UK’s FTSE 100 edged lower on Friday as uncertainty around de-escalation of the Middle East conflict persisted, though the index clung to slim weekly gains.
US President Donald Trump extended his deadline to 8 p.m. ET on April 6 (0000 GMT on April 7) for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy facilities, after Tehran rejected Washington’s 15-point proposal to end the war.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.05 percent down, while the midcap FTSE 250 fell 1.5 percent and logged a weekly loss of over 1.7 percent. However, both indexes were on track for steep monthly losses.
Most sub-sectors traded in the red, except healthcare that rose 2 percent. Positive late-stage trial results for AstraZeneca’s experimental respiratory treatment sent the drugmaker’s shares up 3.4 percent.
Precious metal miners also boosted the benchmark index as gold jumped over 3 percent on dip-buying after a pullback earlier this week.
Britain’s government and the Bank of England say it is too soon to judge the economic hit from the Iran war, but the first strains are appearing and are likely to ring alarm bells for policymakers whose response options are more limited than in past crises.
Official data showed retail sales fell in February after logging the strongest growth in a year and a half in January.
British consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in nearly a year in March, a closely watched monthly survey showed, as concerns over the economic fallout from the Iran war and the prospect of sharp price rises kept households on edge.
Lloyds Banking Group fell 2 percent after Britain’s Treasury Committee said an IT glitch earlier this month exposed personal data of nearly half a million bank customers.
Metlen fell 8.6 percent to the bottom of the benchmark index after the Greek energy group delayed its FY25 results.
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