{"id":135743,"title":"The FTSE 100 moved higher at Thursday’s open","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2026-05-14T07:36:04+00:00","modified":"2026-05-14T07:36:04+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/the-ftse-100-moved-higher-at-thursdays-open/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/the-ftse-100-moved-higher-at-thursdays-open.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/the-ftse-100-moved-higher-at-thursdays-open.json","category":"Blogs","categories":["Blogs","Technology","Technology, Media & Telecoms"],"tags":["Asia","Bangkok","Denmark","Endeavour Mining","Fed","Federal Reserve","Finland","FRANCE","FTSE 100","GERMANY","Glencore","Greenland plan","Hong kong","Japan","London","Manila","mining stocks","Mumbai","Nasdaq Composite","NATO alliance","Netherlands","Nikkei 225","Norway","S&P 500","shanghai","Singapore","Sweden","Sydney","Taiwan","UK","United States","Wall Street","Wellington"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ftse-100-23-OCT-scaled.webp?fit=1200%2C840&quality=80&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"UK equities moved higher at Thursday’s open after official figures showed the British economy expanded by 0.6% during the first quarter of the year, beating expectations of a slowdown amid political and geopolitical uncertainty.\n\nThe FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 10,347.75 in early trading, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 gained 0.6% to 22,597.96.\n\nInvestor sentiment was supported by the stronger-than-expected growth data, which suggested the UK economy remained resilient despite elevated energy prices, global market volatility and ongoing political tensions surrounding Prime Minister Keir Starmer.\n\nThe gains also reflected continued strength across financial, industrial and commodity-linked sectors as markets responded positively to signs of underlying economic momentum.\n\nInsurance stocks were among the strongest performers in London trading, with Legal & General and Standard Life leading the FTSE 100 leaderboard after results from Aviva left investors underwhelmed, sending its shares 1.1% lower.\n\nBanking stocks also remained firmly in demand, with Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group all posting gains.\n\nElsewhere, British American Tobacco, Land Securities Group and Severn Trent traded higher as investors rotated into defensive and income-generating sectors.\n\nNational Grid climbed 1.2% after unveiling plans to invest at least £70 billion over the next five years as part of a major infrastructure expansion programme."}