Britain’s FTSE 100 ended higher on Friday, securing a weekly gain as financial stocks advanced and stronger gold prices supported precious metals miners.
London’s blue-chip index closed up 26.16 points, or 0.3%, at 10,679.03. The FTSE 250 rose 121.22 points, or 0.5%, to 23,538.80, while the AIM All-Share slipped 1.36 points, or 0.2%, to 776.09.
For the week, the FTSE 100 gained 1.6%, the FTSE 250 rose 1.7%, and the AIM All-Share advanced 0.9%.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris ended 0.4% higher, while Frankfurt’s DAX 40 climbed 0.8% after earlier reaching an all-time high of 25,826.78.
US financial markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday.
The yen gave back some of Thursday’s gains amid speculation that Japanese authorities could intervene to support the currency, although analysts noted there was no clear evidence of intervention.
Sterling traded at USD1.3351 on Friday afternoon, down from USD1.3367 on Thursday. Against the euro, the pound eased to EUR1.1672 from EUR1.1681.
UK economic data was weaker. The S&P Global services PMI fell to 48.8 in June from 49.3 in May, remaining below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. The reading showed UK services activity contracted for a second consecutive month and at the sharpest pace since January 2023.
The final composite output index, which combines services and manufacturing, declined to 49.3 from 49.7, marking the weakest reading since April 2025.
Brent crude traded higher at USD71.76 a barrel, up from USD70.76 on Thursday, while gold rose to USD4,167.57 an ounce from USD4,124.43.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said gold’s rebound followed the softer US jobs data. Lower Treasury yields reduced the relative appeal of fixed income, encouraging some investors to add exposure to gold.
On the FTSE 100, Pearson fell 1.4% after apologising for a delay to this year’s SATs examination results in England. The company said technical issues had pushed publication of the results from July 7 to July 16.
On the FTSE 250, Johnson Matthey rose 5.0% after saying it expects to complete the sale of its Catalyst Technologies business to Honeywell International by the end of August, following final regulatory approval for the deal.
Close Brothers gained 7.9% after Shore Capital upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold”. The broker said motor finance uncertainty continues to weigh on sentiment, but argued that recent share price weakness meant investors were now more adequately compensated for the risks.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Lion Finance Group, Weir Group, ICG, Metlen Energy & Metals and St James’s Place.
The biggest fallers were Entain, Babcock International, DCC, Games Workshop and Tesco.
Monday’s global economic calendar includes construction PMI reports and UK new car sales figures. Next week’s UK corporate calendar includes trading updates from Shell and Unite, as well as full-year results from Jet2.
