London close: FTSE ends down as miners slump; GDP in focus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell on Thursday, led lower by weakness in the mining sector, as investors mulled the latest UK GDP reading.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.6% at 10,772.67, while Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate were down 1% at $88.09 and $82.45 a barrel, respectively.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew 0.4% between April and June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter and in line with expectations.

The services sector was the biggest contributor to growth, expanding 0.5%, while the construction sector grew 0.3% and production output showed no growth.

On the month, GDP grew 0.3% in June, having shown no growth in May and following a 0.1% contraction in April.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "Growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, following a strong start to 2026, but remained relatively robust.

"Services were once again the main driver of growth, while production was broadly unchanged and construction also grew.

"Within services, computer programming and advertising continued to perform strongly, as they have done throughout the year, while wholesale was a notable area of weakness.

"While production was flat across the quarter, manufacturing grew, led by the often-volatile pharmaceutical industry alongside further strength in computer products.

"This was offset by falls in power generation and sewerage.

"Services also drove growth in June, with some businesses reporting that good weather and sporting events may have had a positive impact that month."

In equity markets, Antofagasta led the way down as the Chilean copper miner posted a rise in first-half earnings but cut its 2026 production guidance to between 625,000 and 655,000 metric tons from 650,000-700,000 tons previously due to a shutdown at its Los Pelambres mine last month. Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore also lost ground.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "London's FTSE 100 fell to a more than two-week low on Thursday as a sharp selloff in miners overwhelmed relief from stronger-than-expected UK economic growth.

"The benchmark was hit by Antofagasta's downbeat copper production forecast, weaker metal prices, a firmer dollar and renewed concerns that energy-driven inflation pressures could persist while the Middle East conflict remains unresolved."

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Pan African Resources, Hochschild and Endeavour also retreated as gold and silver prices dropped.

Aberdeen and LSEG fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

On the upside, Savills surged as it backed its full-year expectations and posted a rise in first-half profit and revenue, with year-on-year growth across all business segments and a "significant" improvement in profitability in North America.

Grosvenor Casinos owner Rank Group rallied as it reported a 21% increase in full-year underlying operating profit to £78.6m, with good revenue growth across all of its businesses.

Ladbrokes owner Entain ticked higher as it reported first-half results ahead of expectations, while Aviva was boosted by an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,772.67 -0.56%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,837.71 0.09%

techMARK (TASX) 6,125.87 -0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 13,380.00p 5.19%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,264.00p 2.75%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 328.60p 2.37%

Computacenter (CCC) 4,938.00p 2.28%

Tesco (TSCO) 460.70p 2.26%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,195.50p 2.14%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 344.90p 2.07%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 93.40p 1.97%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,643.00p 1.73%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,894.00p 1.72%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,756.00p -6.87%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,166.00p -5.01%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,873.00p -4.74%

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,662.00p -3.62%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,915.00p -3.52%

Abrdn (ABDN) 243.40p -2.95%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 48.68p -2.72%

Entain (ENT) 545.60p -2.57%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 351.40p -2.36%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,556.00p -2.24%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Savills (SVS) 1,088.00p 10.91%

Rank Group (RNK) 105.80p 6.01%

Vistry Group (VTY) 276.60p 5.09%

Kier Group (KIE) 260.20p 3.34%

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (RTW) 2.61p 3.16%

International Workplace Group (IWG) 182.50p 3.05%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,646.00p 2.76%

Bellway (BWY) 2,200.00p 2.52%

Zigup (ZIG) 478.00p 2.47%

Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 855.00p 2.40%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pan African Resources (PAF) 107.00p -5.98%

Globaldata (DATA) 82.50p -5.06%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 509.00p -4.50%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,109.00p -4.17%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 186.80p -3.61%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 244.00p -3.56%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 471.80p -3.24%

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 75.30p -3.09%

Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 110.50p -2.99%

Halfords Group (HFD) 233.50p -2.91%