U.K. stock markets finished the trading session lower on Thursday, with the primary index ending the day down 0.36%.
The decline was driven in part by weakness in several sector groups, notably Industrial Metals & Mining, Fixed Line Telecommunications and Electrical companies. Market breadth favoured decliners: on the London Stock Exchange, 968 stocks fell versus 795 that advanced, while 541 issues finished unchanged.
Top performers
- British American Tobacco PLC (LON:BATS) was the session's strongest performer, rising 2.97% - an increase of 129.00 points to close at 4,473.00.
- Relx PLC (LON:REL) added 2.64%, gaining 59.00 points to finish at 2,293.00.
- BAE Systems PLC (LON:BAES) advanced 2.51%, up 53.00 points to 2,163.00 by the close.
Biggest decliners
- Centrica PLC (LON:CNA) led losses among large-cap names, sliding 5.15% - 10.10 points - to end the day at 185.90.
- Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTRF) dropped 3.99% or 376.00 points, closing at 9,040.00.
- Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) fell 3.72%, down 18.10 points to 467.95.
The session included some notable price milestones: Flutter's shares reached a three-year low during the day, while BAE Systems' stock rose to an all-time high before the close.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities markets, April gold futures were up 0.14% - an increase of 6.95 - to trade at 5,016.45 per troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery rose 2.44%, gaining 1.59 to reach $66.64 a barrel, and the April Brent contract climbed 2.17%, up 1.53 to $71.88 a barrel.
On the currency front, the British pound weakened against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD down 0.41% to 1.34. EUR/GBP was effectively unchanged, moving 0.15% to 0.87. The U.S. Dollar Index Futures increased 0.23% to 97.85.
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Market participants will monitor sector-level performance and commodity and currency moves for implications on corporate earnings and asset allocation decisions.