London close: Stocks finish choppy week in the black

(Sharecast News) - London equities ended the week higher on Friday, supported by gains in pharmaceutical and energy stocks. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.59% at 8,684.44 points, while the FTSE 250 was ahead 0.61% at 20,972.26.

For the week as a whole, the FTSE 100 was up 129.64 points, or 1.52%.

In currency markets, sterling was last down 0.34% against the dollar, trading at $1.3260, while it edged up 0.03% against the euro to change hands at €1.1898.

"Despite Japan's GDP shrinking more than expected, eurozone's trade surplus widening to a record level and no actual, comprehensive trade deals of note having been signed by the US president, positive momentum in global stock markets persists," said TickMill senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph.

"European stock indices continue to outperform and are on track for their fifth consecutive week of gains. In the US building permits fall more than expected but housing starts rebound."

Rudolph noted that the rally off its four-year low amid supply concerns and lingering tensions between India and Pakistan put the oil price on track for its second week of gains.

"Precious metals such as gold and silver continue to slide, though, as flight to safety trades are being unwound.

"While the US dollar has little changed over the week, global bond yields initially rallied to a one-month high as soft US economic data reinforced Fed rate cut expectations before they fell back towards the tail end of the week as rate cut expectations were pushed back to September."

Eurozone trade surplus jumps to all-time high, US consumer confidence deteriorates

In economic news, there were no data releases of note in the UK on Friday, but on the continent, the eurozone's trade surplus jumped to an all-time high of €36.8bn in March, driven by a surge in exports ahead of US tariff hikes.

According to Eurostat, exports to the United States rose 59.5% year-on-year to €71.4bn, helping total eurozone exports climb 13.6% to €279.8bn.

Imports also increased, up 8.8% to €243bn, but the strong growth in chemical and machinery exports pushed the surplus well above the expected €17.5bn.

Trade with the UK rose modestly, while exports to China declined.

Across the Atlantic, consumer confidence in the United States deteriorated sharply in May.

The University of Michigan's sentiment index fell to 50.8, its lowest level since June 2022 and nearly 30% below January levels.

Rising inflation expectations and uncertainty over trade policy weighed heavily on household outlooks, with both current conditions and future expectations indices registering declines.

"Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly three-quarters of consumers, up from almost 60% in April; uncertainty over trade policy continues to dominate consumers' thinking about the economy," the University of Michigan said in its report.

"Many survey measures showed some signs of improvement following the temporary reduction of China tariffs, but these initial upticks were too small to alter the overall picture - consumers continue to express somber views about the economy."

US housing data also disappointed.

Building permits dropped 4.7% in April to an annual rate of 1.41 million, missing forecasts and marking the weakest reading since May 2024.

The decline was attributed to elevated mortgage rates and rising construction costs following new tariffs.

Although housing starts rose 1.6% to 1.36 million, they remained below year-ago levels and fell short of estimates, highlighting persistent weakness in the residential construction sector.

St James's Place jumps on raised price target, Workspace Group in the red

On London's equity markets, St James's Place climbed 2.47% after JPMorgan reiterated its 'strong conviction' on the wealth manager and raised its price target.

GSK and AstraZeneca advanced 2.66% and 1.81%, respectively, as investors returned to pharmaceuticals following recent underperformance.

"Pharma stocks have been volatile of late amid fears of tariffs on the sector, while a pullback in oil prices dragged down the big oil producers yesterday," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Land Securities edged up 0.08% after posting full-year results in line with expectations and reaffirming its strategic shift away from office assets.

On the FTSE 250, Premier Foods gained 6.48%, building on Thursday's momentum after the group reported stronger-than-expected trading profits and a dividend increase.

Close Brothers also rose sharply, up 6.09%, following a price target upgrade from RBC, which highlighted potential signs of recovery at the lender.

On the downside, Workspace Group fell 6.94% after warning of a £7m hit to 2026 trading profits.

Future slid 9.8% as the publisher forecast a slight full-year organic revenue decline amid persistent macroeconomic headwinds.

Vesuvius lost 1.87% after downgrading its full-year guidance due to continued weakness in industrial markets.

Fresnillo dipped 2.02% after disclosing the sale of most of its stake in MAG Silver.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,684.56 0.59% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,972.26 0.61% techMARK (TASX) 4,737.56 0.84%

FTSE 100 - Risers

British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,187.00p 3.57% GSK (GSK) 1,394.50p 2.35% St James's Place (STJ) 1,094.00p 2.15% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,010.50p 1.95% F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 1,110.00p 1.93% AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,330.00p 1.85% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 18,730.00p 1.74% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,798.00p 1.71% SSE (SSE) 1,745.00p 1.66% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 92.74p 1.62%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,066.00p -3.59% Melrose Industries (MRO) 465.40p -2.14% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,821.00p -1.89% Glencore (GLEN) 266.00p -1.70% Kingfisher (KGF) 310.80p -1.68% Fresnillo (FRES) 1,000.00p -1.57% Croda International (CRDA) 3,111.00p -1.18% Entain (ENT) 768.00p -1.16% 3i Group (III) 3,974.00p -1.14% easyJet (EZJ) 542.80p -0.95%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 368.60p 6.84% Premier Foods (PFD) 212.00p 5.74% Greggs (GRG) 2,038.00p 4.25% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,004.50p 4.01% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 154.20p 3.91% Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 6,365.00p 3.16% Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 274.50p 3.00% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 513.00p 2.81% Tate & Lyle (TATE) 601.00p 2.65% PayPoint (PAY) 698.00p 2.65%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Future (FUTR) 668.00p -10.34% Workspace Group (WKP) 424.00p -6.39% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 258.20p -5.12% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 65.20p -4.96% Mobico Group (MCG) 27.72p -3.01% Renishaw (RSW) 2,680.00p -2.55% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 404.00p -2.51% Vesuvius (VSVS) 367.40p -2.35% Bodycote (BOY) 546.00p -2.32% Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 210.50p -1.86%