The FTSE 100 edged down on Friday on a mixed day for European equities despite new optimism about an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 5.04 points, 0.1%, at 9,095.73. The FTSE 250 ended 20.45 points higher, 0.1%, at 21,958.55 while the AIM All-Share finished down 1.05 points, 0.1%, at 762.46.
For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% and the FTSE 250 advanced 1.2%.
In Europe, the Cac 40 in Paris rose 0.4%, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt eased back 0.1%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.6% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%.
Bloomberg said Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion.
According to Bloomberg sources, US and Russian officials are working toward an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as early as next week.
The US is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal, which is far from certain, the report added.
Brent oil was quoted at 66.63 dollars a barrel in London on Friday, up from 66.48 dollars late on Thursday.
Elsewhere, President Donald Trump named the leader of his White House economic panel to fill a recently vacated seat on the Federal Reserve board, as he seeks to boost his sway over the independent central bank.
“It is my great honour to announce that I have chosen Dr Stephen Miran, current chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, to serve in the just vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board until January 31 2026,” he announced on his website, Truth Social.
“In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement,” Mr Trump added.
Dr Miran will finish the term of Adriana Kugler, an appointee of former president Joe Biden who announced her resignation last week.
The pound rose to 1.3450 dollars late on Friday afternoon in London, compared to 1.3412 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at 1.1666 dollars.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.29%, widened from 4.23%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was 4.86%, stretched from 4.80%.
Back in London, gambling operators were in the red after the Guardian reported that a rise in gambling levies is thought to be “near-guaranteed”, as part of a package of tax rises in the autumn budget.
Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain fell 5.8%, Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment dropped 8.1% and William Hill owner Evoke slid 7.2%. Casino and bingo operator Rank was 4.8% lower.
On Thursday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “We’ve already launched a review into gambling taxes. We’re taking evidence on that at the moment, and again, we’ll set out our policies in the normal way, in our budget later this year.”
Further weighing on Flutter Entertainment was a mixed reaction to half-year results, despite the firm raising annual guidance.
After the US market close, Flutter said Fan Duel, favourable sporting results and iGaming growth helped push sales and earnings higher in the second quarter, improving prospects for the rest of the year.
But Peel Hunt said Flutter’s US strength is somewhat diluted by international weakness as it downgraded the stock to “hold” from “add”.
Noting shares have recovered well from April lows, Peel Hunt said: “There may be more upside, particularly if management can demonstrate that it can reinvigorate the aggregate performance of the international division. However, for now, we see no reason to push our valuation further.”
US gold futures hit a record high after Trump’s administration imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo and 100-ounce bars.
On the FTSE 100, GSK rose 0.9% after stating said it will receive an upfront payment of 370 million dollars from CureVac, following a patent settlement involving BioNTech and Pfizer over messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine technology.
The deal will see the London-based pharmaceuticals firm collect a 1% royalty on US sales of Pfizer and BioNTech’s influenza, Covid-19, and related combination mRNA vaccines from the start of 2025.
Of the upfront settlement, 320 million dollars will be paid in cash, with the remainder reflecting changes to GSK’s existing licence agreement with CureVac.
WPP remained in free fall, down a further 6.2%, leaving it down 56% in 2025 so far.
The advertising firm has been dogged by falling sales amid threats from artificial intelligence.
On Thursday, it said pre-tax profit declined by 71% in the six months that ended June 30, sinking to £98 million from £338 million.
WPP cut its interim dividend per share to 7.5p, half the previous year’s 15p payout.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Glencore, up 7.8p at 288.2p, Antofagasta, up 50p at 2,024p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, up 160p at 7,030p, Mondi, up 21.5p at 1,079p and JD Sports Fashion, up 1.5p at 87.7p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were WPP, down 24.3p at 367.5p, Entain, down 58p at 938p, Intercontinental Hotels Group, down 358p at 8,824p, Rightmove, down 30.4p at 788p, and Sage Group, down 37p at 1,161.5p.
Contributed by Alliance News
