London’s blue chip index outperformed its peers in Paris and Frankfurt on Friday morning, as the UK’s estimated gross domestic product for 2024 was revised upwards, and UK retail sales beat expectations in February, data published by the Office for National Statistics showed.
The FTSE 100 index was up 6.25 points, 0.1%, at 8,672.37. The FTSE 250 was up 32.27 points, 0.2%, at 19,946.97, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.42 points, 0.2%, at 698.16.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 866.64, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 17,448.58, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 866.64.
The UK’s estimated economic growth for 2024 was revised upwards, data published by the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.
The ONS said real annual GDP is expected to have grown by 1.1% in 2024, revised up from the first estimate increase of 0.9%. This is up from an unrevised increase of 0.4% in 2023.
On an annual basis, UK GDP is estimated to have increased 1.5% during the fourth quarter, beating an expected 1.4% rise.
UK retail sales outperformed the market consensus for February, with volumes rising by 1.0% in February from January, well ahead of an FXStreet-cited consensus for a 0.3% fall. In January, retail sales had risen 1.4%, which had been downwardly revised from 1.7%.
The pound was quoted lower at $1.2947 early on Friday in London, compared to $1.2960 at the equities close on Thursday.
The euro stood at $1.0778, against $1.0797. Against the yen, the dollar was trading down at JP¥150.49 compared to JP¥151.05.
Meanwhile, households in the UK are about to see across-the-board increases to their bills as ‘awful April’ heralds the start of price hikes on everything from energy to council tax.
Energy bills for millions of households are to rise by 6.4% from April 1 when Ofgem increases its price cap for a third consecutive quarter, while water bills will increase by an average £123 per year – the largest rise since the industry was privatised in 1989.
Most councils in England are planning to raise council tax bills by 4.99% – the maximum amount permitted – next month, with some having been granted special permission to go even higher.
With the average household already spending £2,062 on essentials each month, analysts believe the latest increases could add another £49.45 to this figure.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.6% lower.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo slid 1.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.7% lower. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%
‘Sentiment remains sour due to intensifying tariff talk. The carmakers around the world got hammered this week as the ones that produce their cars outside the US will cost 25% more if the levies go live – and nearly half of vehicles sold in the US are reportedly assembled elsewhere – and, the ones that are made in the US have at least 20% of their components coming from outside the US. Evercore ISI predicts that US car prices will likely increase by $3,000 - $4,000 on average,’ said Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.4%, the S&P 500 slipping 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite fading 0.5%.
Ozkardeskaya continued: ‘Of course, the global ramifications are immense and the selloff is intense. GM lost more than 7% yesterday. The South Korean Kia Motors lost more than 7.5% from the peak of the week and the Japanese Honda lost more than 9% since the peak of the week. It is quite disquieting to see traditional carmakers lost that much of their value in a few hours. The European carmakers posted smaller losses because the tariff threats are already priced in since a while. iShares Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts ETF is down by almost 14% since the February peak, while the index saw a smaller pullback posterior to a remarkable rally on spending euphoria.
‘Gold is unsurprisingly pushing higher into uncharted territories, and the overbought market conditions don‘t matter when the geopolitical headlines are so aggressive. Investors buy gold each time they hear the word ’tariff’.’
Gold was quoted up at $3,070.55 an ounce at Friday’s market open against $3,051.11 late on Thursday, hitting a record high of $3,086.04 earlier on Friday morning.
Ethernity Networks gained 33% at Friday’s market open.
The supplier of data processing semiconductor technology for networking appliances won an extension to its $1.1 million contract with an unnamed Tier 1 US-based aerospace system products provider.
The total contract value now stands at $1.3 million, extended by an additional $290,000. Ethernity Networks anticipates further revenue from the client during the second half of 2025.
At the other end, Uru Metals fell 50%.
The nickel project developer in South Africa raised £300,000 via a placing of 10.0 million shares at 3 pence each. Proceeds will be used to fund activities at the Zebediela project.
Oil and gas engineering services firm Plexus is down 13%.
It swung to a pretax loss of £1.3 million for the six months to December 31 from a profit of £2.2 million the year before, as revenue sank 43% to £2.9 million from £5.1 million.
Figures from the prior year included a one-off £4.1 million licensing deal with Schlumberger, known as SLB, Plexus noted. It added that underlying organic revenue based on operational activities, excluding the licensing revenue, has grown by £1.9 million during the six-month period.
Brent oil was quoted lower at $73.24 a barrel early in London on Friday from $73.83 late Thursday.
Still to come on Friday’s economic calendar, eurozone consumer confidence at 1000 GMT and US personal consumption expenditures data at 1230 GMT.
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