The UK's FTSE 100 is set to drop for the first time in five months despite recent gains

London's FTSE 100 edged higher on Friday as energy stocks led the way. Oil prices were also rising. However, despite a budget boost earlier in the week, it was likely to end a winning streak of four months.

The FTSE 100, which is a global index, was up by 0.1% at 1125 GMT. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250, a midcap index, was flat and on track for a slight monthly decline.

Oil & Gas gained 0.7% on the back of a rise in oil prices due to uncertainty surrounding peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Investors are awaiting the outcome of a OPEC+ conference on Sunday.

Johnson Matthey shares rose 1.8% as J.P.Morgan upgraded the rating of the company from "neutral" to "overweight".

The FTSE 100 as well as the FTSE 250 have both been on track to make solid weekly gains since Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced earlier this week a large tax-raising budget which gave her more room to achieve her deficit reduction targets.

Traders who increased their bets on a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in December following dovish comments from policymakers also boosted UK stock prices in the final two weeks of November.

The long-dated gilt yields remained flat this week after falling earlier in the week. Meanwhile, the pound was losing ground against the US dollar.

The precious metals sector has been the best-performing sector in the month of March, as gold prices have risen. However, the aerospace and defense sector is lagging behind as the prospects for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine increased.

Burberry, among other stocks that moved, fell by 2.3% following J.P.Morgan's downgrading of the luxury firm to "underweight".

Mitchells & Butlers jumped by 11.5% after reporting a profit that exceeded expectations.

Investors were waiting for any updates regarding the CME Group outage that affected trading in currency and futures on Friday. (Reporting and editing by Sahal Muhammad; Utkarsh Tushr Hathi)

(source: Reuters)