London’s top share index ends lacklustre week in the red
Stock prices fall
London’s FTSE 100 edged lower on Friday to end a muted week of trading, despite revised economic growth figures painting a slightly rosier picture of the UK economy.
The index was hovering around zero at the end of the session but closed 15.56 points lower, or 0.19%, at 8,164.12.
High street retailers JD Sports, Marks & Spencer and Burberry were among the biggest fallers of the day.
The lacklustre performance came on a day that revised gross domestic product (GDP) figures were released by the Office for National Statistics, showing that the UK economy eked out growth of 0.7% over the first three months of the year.
The updated data came in a fraction higher than the 0.6% increase previously reported.
While not doing much to stimulate London markets, it presented potentially positive news for the Prime Minister ahead of next week’s General Election after he previously pledged to grow the economy.
It was a mixed session for other top European indices, with Germany’s Dax edging 0.13% higher while France’s Cac closed 0.68% lower.
Over in the US, trading got off on the front foot with both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones up about 0.3% by the time European markets closed.
The pound was more or less flat against the US dollar at 1.264, and down about 0.1% against the euro at 1.18.
In company news, it was a tough session for MusicMagpie which saw its share price fall by as much as a fifth on Friday.
The refurbished technology platform revealed that its loss before tax hit £3 million in the six months to the end of May, and revenues were lower than the previous year.
Boss Steve Oliver said it had faced challenges thanks to increasing competition in the second-hand tech market and “consumers continuing to feel the squeeze on their wallets”. Shares in the business closed 13.8% lower.
Shares in bar operator Nightcap plummeted by about 50% after the AIM-listed group said it was going to delist its shares from the London Stock Exchange.
The group, which runs bar chains Dirty Martini and Cocktail Club, said it was “in the best interests” of the company and shareholders to cancel its AIM admission and re-register as a private limited company.
It also warned that adjusted earnings would be below market expectations amid a “challenging” trading environment. Shares in Nightcap closed 47.8% lower.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3i Group, up 67p to 3066p, Airtel Africa, up 1.5p to 120.1p, Beazley, up 8.5p to 708p, easyJet, up 4.8p to 457.7p, and Unite Group, up 9p to 892p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were JD Sports, down 6.85p to 119.5p, Marks & Spencer, down 7.4p to 286.5p, Burberry, down 22p to 877.8p, Lloyds, down 1.34p to 54.74p, and WPP, down 16.6p to 724.4p.
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