U.K. stocks closed higher on Thursday, driven by strength in the Software & Computer Services, Pharmaceuticals & Biotech and Healthcare Equipment & Services sectors.
At the close in London the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 was up 0.27%.
The session's top performers within the index included B&M European Value Retail PLC (LON:BMEB), which climbed 6.55% or 12.80 points to finish at 208.20. Relx PLC (LON:REL) added 6.03% or 147.00 points to end at 2,583.00, while London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LON:LSEG) rose 5.29% or 460.00 points to close at 9,162.00.
Among the laggards, Prudential PLC (LON:PRU) fell 7.60% or 80.20 points to trade at 974.80 at the close. J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY) dropped 3.09% or 9.40 points to finish at 295.20, and Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) declined 2.81% or 56.50 points to 1,955.50.
On the exchange overall, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 949 to 799, while 526 stocks finished unchanged.
Commodities markets were mixed. Gold Futures for August delivery rose 0.95% or 42.36 to $4,509.26 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for July delivery fell 3.30% or 3.17 to $92.85 a barrel, and the August Brent contract declined 2.94% or 2.88 to trade at $94.93 a barrel.
In foreign exchange trading, GBP/USD was unchanged at 1.34, while EUR/GBP was unchanged at 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures slipped 0.21% to 99.29.
Market participants saw a mix of sector leadership and weakness at the close, with technology-related names and healthcare stocks supporting the benchmark while some financial and retail firms weighed on returns.