The FTSE 100 closed 15.26 points, or 0.1%, higher at 10,695.25 on Friday, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.4% to 24,261.14 and AIM added 0.2%.
For the week, the FTSE 100 gained 0.3%, the FTSE 250 rose 0.2%, while AIM fell 1.6%.
Oil prices eased from Thursday’s highs, with Brent crude around $106.21 a barrel, down from $107.25, as investors weighed signs of possible progress between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had submitted a proposal that could reopen the strait to tanker traffic within seven days if certain conditions are met, although analysts cautioned that the plan appears similar to proposals already under discussion.
The fall in oil weighed on London energy shares, with BP down 2.3%, Shell off 0.8% and Ithaca Energy falling 3.6%.
Bond markets remained the main source of caution. The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.21% from 5.11%, while the 30-year yield rose to 5.52% from 5.45%, reinforcing concerns that higher borrowing costs could persist.
Sterling strengthened slightly to around $1.3238, while UK consumer confidence improved for a third consecutive month, with the GfK index rising one point to minus 13.
Among individual stocks, Computacenter rallied 3.2%, while Glencore gained 2.2% following an upgrade from UBS. On the FTSE 250, Harworth Group rose 5.1% after Peel Holdings increased its takeover offer.
Raspberry Pi fell 5.8%, giving back some of Thursday’s 20% surge following its strong first-half results.
Among smaller companies, Safestay dropped 32% after reporting a first-half pretax loss, while Capricorn Energy jumped 14% after withdrawing support for its DNO takeover and backing a higher offer from Genel Energy.
The broader market implication is that equities are still holding up despite a severe bond-market repricing, but that resilience will continue to be tested while Treasury yields remain above 5%. Lower oil can support consumers and ease inflation fears, yet sustained high yields still threaten valuations across property, growth stocks and heavily leveraged companies, leaving markets highly sensitive to next week’s US labour data and inflation signals.
