London’s blue-chips have inched slightly higher on Friday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.1% and the FTSE 250 flat, as investors weighed a surprise upside beat in UK growth data against a jittery backdrop from the Middle East.
On the continent, sentiment was similarly cautious-to-firm, with the DAX up 0.1%, the CAC 40 up 0.3% and the Stoxx 50 up 0.3%.
The standout domestic story is the ONS’s latest GDP figures, with the UK economy having grown 0.4% in July, beating economists’ expectations. Services led the gains, up 0.6%, while production and construction both slipped 0.5%.
Ready to put what you’ve learned into practice?
Try IG’s platform with £10,000 in virtual funds and practise trading
without putting your own money at risk.
Try IG with a demo account →
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Learn the markets with IG Academy
Build your knowledge with IG Academy educational content, then use a
demo account to practise what you’ve learned on the IG platform.
Explore IG →
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
See how trading works before risking real money
IG’s demo gives you access to thousands of markets and £10,000 in
virtual funds, so you can explore the platform and test your ideas first.
Open an IG demo →
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Turn trading theory into practical experience
Learn with IG Academy, explore charts and market tools, and practise
strategies in a simulated trading environment before going live.
Start practising with IG →
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Ready to take your learning further?
IG combines market education, analysis and an established trading platform,
giving you the tools to keep learning as you develop your trading skills.
Discover IG →
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Geopolitics remains front and centre, with Brent having briefly climbed above $109 a barrel after Iran-backed Houthi militants seized key ground on the coast, stoking fears over shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint.
Prices have since eased back, with Brent down 1.5% at $106.03 and WTI off 1.4% at $101.07, as Donald Trump insisted he has “no regrets” over the ongoing conflict with Iran.
After declines on Thursday, spot gold and silver are firm, with spot gold up 0.6% at $4,343 and silver up 0.5% at $63.92.
In the FTSE 100, British American Tobacco (+1.44%), Standard Life (+1.21%) and Games Workshop (+1.15%) lead the risers, while RELX (-2.33%) fell despite a bullish note from TD Cowen on Thursday naming it an AI beneficiary; LSEG (-2.02%) and Sage (-1.84%) also dragged.
In the FTSE 250, XP Power surged 10%, alongside SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (+3.45%) and Renishaw (+3.17%).
Harbour Energy fell 3.10% after confirming a $190m off-market share purchase from BASF, cutting the German firm’s stake to roughly 16.4%, while Playtech (-4.08%) and Applied Nutrition (-2.73%) also lagged.
Elsewhere, Berkeley Group flagged buyer caution ahead of October’s Budget, Trainline unveiled a £100m buyback, and Supermarket Income REIT completed a £104m grocery asset acquisition spree.
