FTSE 100 closes at record high as financial and defence stocks surge
The FTSE 100 closed at a record high in Britain on Thursday. Gains in the financial and defence sectors fueled this, as investors assessed important economic data.
The blue-chip index rose for the fourth day in a row, gaining 0.1%. The midcap index fell 0.2%.
Investors have responded positively to UK GDP second-quarter figures. These showed that the growth rate slowed down less than expected, despite U.S. tariffs on trade and a weaker job market.
The UK benchmark was resilient despite Wall Street's retreat following unexpectedly high U.S. Producer Price Inflation data, which dampened hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The aerospace and defense index rose 2%.
The financials also added support. Aviva, the insurer, rose 2.5% to its highest level in 17 years after increasing its interim dividend. It also reported a 22% rise in half-year operational profit. This helped boost the index of life insurers by 1.5%.
Admiral Group rose 6.6%, after reporting a 67% increase in its half-year profit before tax.
British Gas's owner Centrica rose by 3.7% following the announcement that it will jointly purchase National Grid’s Grain LNG Terminal with U.S. based Energy Capital Partners, for approximately 1.5 billion pounds ($2billion).
The energy sector, on the other hand, fell by 1.4%.
Shell and Harbour Energy both fell more than 1%.
The industrial metal mining sector also fell by 2.3%.
HSBC and BP were among the major companies that saw their shares fall by close to 1% when they went ex-dividend – trading without the right to receive the latest dividend payout.
Diploma, a distributor of technical products, fell by 2.9% following the resignation of finance chief Chris Davies.
(source: Reuters)
