By Patrick Munnelly, Market Strategist, Tickmill
British equities enjoyed gains on Friday, driven by a rise in mining stocks following weak data from China. The prospect of further stimulus measures from Beijing boosted investor confidence. Energy companies also benefited from higher oil prices. The FTSE 100, the leading index, advanced by 0.80% for the day. Although the index is set to end the month in positive territory, it is poised to break a two-quarter streak of gains due to concerns over rising inflation and a global increase in interest rates.
Industrial metal miners saw a 0.4% increase as copper prices climbed, fueled by hopes of stimulus measures in response to China’s third consecutive month of declining factory activity in June. Housing-related stocks, including real estate companies, real estate investment trusts, and homebuilders, saw gains ranging from 0.5% to 0.7%. Barratt Developments LON:BDEV, the largest housebuilder in Britain, rose by 0.5% after announcing the sale of 604 homes to Citra Living Properties for a cash consideration of £168.4 million ($212.57 million). Additionally, final estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the British economy grew by 0.1% in the first quarter of this year, unchanged from the initial estimate.
FTSE 100 biggest movers
On the negative side of the ledger United Utilities Group LON:UU. sat near the bottom of the index at the close, falling 1.5% after they announced plans to invest in 33 infrastructure projects, with the commencement of work scheduled within the next two years. This investment exceeds the initial allowance set by Ofwat, the water industry regulator, by approximately GBP600 million. The decision to increase the investment came after it was revealed that United Utilities’ projects would require more funding than previously agreed upon.
On the positive side of the ledger Ocado LON:OCDO and Hargreaves Lansdown LON:HL. battled it out for top spot, finishing the last session of the month quarter and half year +5.15% and 4.08% respectively. Centrica LON:CNA was in hot pursuit in third place, gaining 3.25% announcing on Friday that it has expanded the storage capacity at Rough, the largest gas storage facility in the UK, in order to enhance resilience for the upcoming winter season. The storage capacity at Rough has been increased to 54 billion cubic feet (bcf), allowing it to produce enough gas to meet six days of average demand and 3.5 days of peak winter demand.
Podcast: Everything you need to know about the FTSE 100 Index
Subscribe to our podcast on your favourite platform
Don’t miss out on our weekly podcast. You can find us on Spotify, Soundcloud, Amazon, Apple, YouTube and many other popular platforms
