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(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was 0.1% higher at 10,855.11 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Advertising firm WPP was the standout gainer on the index, although there was no obvious reason for the move.
Defence companies were also in demand, with Babcock, Melrose and BAE Systems higher.
On the downside, Chilean copper miner Antofagasta and Anglo American both fell as metals prices lost ground.
Lloyds and NatWest were among the worst performers following reports that chancellor John Healey will raise taxes on the banking sector in his Budget later this month.
Angeline Ong, senior technical analyst at IG, said: "A UK bank tax risk is now a base case. If it is confirmed on Oct 28, it'll be the size and timing that will be key.
"If Healey does go ahead, shares of Lloyds and NatWest, which are almost entirely exposed to the UK, would likely be impacted most, and you are seeing this already in the share price reaction today. Barclays is partly exposed. HSBC is least exposed in the mix."
Lloyds was also in focus after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to 'sector perform' from 'outperform'.
"Whilst structural hedge repricing should provide the bank with a material NII tailwind, today's downgrade reflects our more cautious view on competition in the UK deposit market and second order implications for NIM, a dynamic we believe is underappreciated," RBC said.
It noted that despite being 6% below consensus adjusted pre-tax profit in FY28, an undemanding valuation keeps it from downgrading to 'underperform'.
FTSE 100 - Risers
WPP (WPP) 417.10p 4.10%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 964.80p 4.01%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 548.20p 3.16%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,984.50p 2.50%
Weir (WEIR) 2,676.00p 2.45%
Relx plc (REL) 2,936.00p 1.80%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 838.50p 1.76%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 295.90p 1.68%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 485.70p 1.65%
Kingfisher (KGF) 343.80p 1.65%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,351.00p -2.18%
Severn Trent (SVT) 3,156.00p -1.93%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 662.60p -1.69%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 104.10p -1.56%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,488.00p -1.50%
Haleon (HLN) 369.80p -1.23%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,374.00p -1.17%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,467.00p -1.08%
GSK (GSK) 1,849.00p -1.04%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 16,930.00p -0.88%
