UK equities closed higher on Friday, with the Investing.com UK 100 index rising 0.25% to 7,950.40. Advancing issues led decliners by a margin of 1,050 to 638, while 563 stocks ended unchanged, according to London Stock Exchange data.
Among the top performers, SSE PLC led gains with a 2.86% advance to 2,449.00, followed by HSBC Holdings PLC, which added 1.62% to close at 1,528.40. Severn Trent PLC also contributed, rising 1.48% to 3,146.00. The gains were concentrated in the electric, banking and industrial transportation sectors.
On the downside, B&M European Value Retail PLC fell 2.62% to 237.60, while BAE Systems PLC declined 2.29% to 2,044.00. Airtel Africa Plc dropped 2.12% to 332.80, rounding out the day’s weakest performers.
Commodity futures declined, with gold futures for December delivery falling 2.21% to $4,561.14 per troy ounce. Crude oil futures for October delivery slipped 0.48% to $83.13 per barrel, while Brent crude for November delivery eased 0.56% to $88.02 per barrel.
The British pound held steady against the dollar, with GBP/USD flat at 1.3500, while EUR/GBP remained at 0.8600. The US Dollar Index futures fell 0.46% to 99.55, reflecting modest dollar softness.
