London stocks finished the session in the red on Thursday, with weakness concentrated in banking, household goods and home construction, and autos and parts. The Investing.com United Kingdom 100 closed down 0.19% as selling pressure outpaced advances across the exchange.
Market breadth and movers
On the London Stock Exchange, decliners outnumbered gainers by 1,106 to 691, while 502 stocks finished unchanged. At the index level, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 was lower by 0.19% at the close.
Top risers
- Rentokil Initial PLC (LON:RTO) led the winners, rising 5.16% - an increase of 24.10 points - to close at 491.40.
- Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF) added 3.26% or 11.00 points to end at 348.60.
- SSE PLC (LON:SSE) climbed 3.17%, gaining 83.00 points to finish at 2,704.00.
Largest decliners
- WPP PLC (LON:WPP) posted the biggest drop, down 7.91% or 20.20 points to 235.20.
- Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) fell 6.31%, a decline of 80.00 points, to 1,188.50.
- HSBC Holdings PLC (LON:HSBA) lost 6.05% or 77.00 points, closing at 1,195.80.
Price milestones and notable levels
- Shares of Rentokil Initial rose to 52-week highs, increasing 5.16% to 491.40.
- WPP shares fell to 5-year lows after the 7.91% decline to 235.20.
- SSE shares reached all-time highs, up 3.17% to 2,704.00.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities trading, April gold futures were down 0.95% - a fall of 49.26 - to $5,129.84 a troy ounce. Oil moved in the opposite direction, with April crude rising 8.91% or 7.77 to $95.02 a barrel and the May Brent contract up 8.22% or 7.56 to $99.54 a barrel.
On the foreign exchange front, the pound weakened against the dollar, with GBP/USD down 0.41% to 1.34. EUR/GBP was effectively unchanged, moving 0.06% to 0.86. The US Dollar Index Futures was stronger, up 0.40% at 99.63.
What this means
The session reflected sector-specific pressure that outweighed gains among a subset of defensives and utilities. While some names posted strong single-session advances and fresh highs, several large-cap names in advertising, housebuilding and banking recorded notable declines, contributing to the modest index loss.