LONDON: London’s FTSE 100 rose on Friday and capped a volatile week with modest gains as a retreat in gilt yields helped sentiment, while telecom stocks fell after SpaceX’s acquisition of low-band spectrum rattled the sector.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 1% to 10,552.05, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 1.1%.
Oil prices eased earlier in the session after US President Donald Trump said Washington would not attack Iran before next month’s US midterm elections, amid what he described as productive talks to end a war that has disrupted global energy markets.
Brent crude futures were last flat at $104.35.
British government bond yields retreated, with 10- and 30-year gilt yields easing after hitting fresh multi-decade highs earlier this week
For the week, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 posted 0.9% and 0.1% rises, respectively, recovering from volatile trading driven by higher oil prices and renewed concerns over inflation, borrowing costs and the outlook for interest rates.
Shares in Airtel Money fell 5.6%, below their offer price on Friday, in a muted start to trading for the African mobile money service after a heavily oversubscribed initial public offering.