U.K. equities ended Thursday's trading session in positive territory, with sector strength in Software & Computer Services, Support Services and Travel & Leisure pushing the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 higher.
At the close in London the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 rose 0.46% to register a new record high.
The session's top performers on the index included Howden Joinery Group Plc (LON:HWDN), which advanced 10.75% or 92.00 points to finish at 948.00. London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LON:LSEG) gained 9.06% or 706.00 points to close at 8,500.00, and Relx PLC (LON:REL) added 4.55% or 110.00 points to end at 2,525.00 in late trade.
On the other side of the market, Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK) led declines, slipping 16.89% or 279.00 points to close at 1,373.00. Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES) dropped 5.13% or 222.00 points to 4,104.00, and Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) fell 4.38% or 195.00 points to 4,260.00.
Market breadth favored advancers: 1,027 stocks rose on the London Stock Exchange, 742 declined, and 542 finished unchanged.
Notable price extremes were recorded during the session. Shares of Howden Joinery reached 52-week highs after rising 10.75% to 948.00. Conversely, Hikma Pharmaceuticals moved to 52-week lows, trading down 16.89% to 1,373.00.
Commodities markets were mixed. Gold futures for April delivery decreased 0.37% or 19.46 to $5,206.74 a troy ounce. In crude oil trading, April WTI rose 1.57% or 1.03 to $66.45 a barrel, and the May Brent contract increased 1.85% or 1.31 to $72.00 a barrel.
Currency moves included a 0.44% decline in GBP/USD to 1.35, while EUR/GBP was unchanged at 0.87 reflecting a 0.30% move noted in the session. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15% at 97.77.
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