London close: FTSE ends off highs amid broader tech selloff

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had pared earlier gains to end just a touch firmer on Friday, helped along by strong performances from AstraZeneca and BT Group, although the general tone was subdued amid the broader tech selloff.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.1% at 10,729.78, off earlier highs but faring pretty well and better than its European counterparts thanks to its limited exposure to the tech sector, which sold off after disappointing earnings from Amazon and Intel.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "Given the importance of tech stocks to global markets, it is not surprising to see stock markets around the world ending the week with heavy losses.

"Even the FTSE 100, which managed to clock up a few gains this morning, and contains little connected with the AI mania, has fallen, and the rising tide of oil prices means that the instinct to keep selling into the close and beyond will remain strong. This week's tech earnings might have restored the market's faith in the AI story, but instead they have dealt it a further blow."

On home shores, figures from Nationwide showed that house price growth was the slowest in October since 2024.

House prices rose 0.5% on the year, down from 0.8% growth in September. On the month, there was no change in October following a 0.3% decline the month before. The average price of a house stood at £273,566 this month, down from £274,251 in September.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said October's annual house price growth marked the weakest since January 2024.

"Market activity and house price growth have slowed in recent months, in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop," he said. "Geopolitical tensions remain high, with the conflict in the Middle East exerting upward pressure on energy prices, fanning inflation concerns.

"This in turn has led to mounting financial market expectations of Bank Rate increases, which have maintained upward pressure on the market interest rates which underpin mortgage pricing."

In equity markets, AstraZeneca surged as it posted a 7% jump in total revenue for the first nine months, with double-digit growth in oncology, R&I and rare disease offsetting headwinds from loss of exclusivity for Farxiga and Brilinta. It also announced a $1.5bn savings plan.

BT Group rallied following a Financial Times report that Virgin Media O2 is closing in on a deal to use its fibre broadband network.

BP edged up after posting a surge in third-quarter profit and a reduction in net debt amid rising refining margins.

Third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit - BP's core measure of income - rose to $8.46bn from $2.21bn in the same period a year earlier, beating expectations of $7.33bn. The oil giant said the jump is due mainly to significantly higher realised refining margins and a significantly higher gas and marketing trading result.

On the downside, NatWest slumped after it reported a modest increase in third-quarter profits, lagging the stronger earnings growth reported by its domestic rivals, as it revealed further workforce reductions under its efficiency drive.

NatWest reported operating pre-tax profit of £2.23bn for the three months to September, up just 1.9% from £2.18bn a year earlier. This represented the weakest year-on-year profit growth among the major UK banks to have reported so far this earnings season.

Airtel Africa slid despite reporting a big increase in first-half profits as strong demand for data and mobile money services drove double-digit revenue growth across its markets helped offset rising costs.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Endeavour, Hochschild and Pan African Resources all lost their shine as gold and silver prices fell.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,729.78 0.07%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,453.36 -0.89%

techMARK (TASX) 6,311.44 0.70%

FTSE 100 - Risers

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,960.00p 6.96%

BT Group (BT.A) 227.30p 6.71%

Diageo (DGE) 1,757.00p 3.23%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 8,510.00p 3.15%

Relx plc (REL) 2,992.00p 2.57%

GSK (GSK) 1,855.00p 2.46%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 538.40p 2.32%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 345.40p 2.13%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,922.50p 2.04%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 119.10p 2.01%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 579.60p -8.61%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 259.00p -6.50%

Computacenter (CCC) 4,938.00p -6.03%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,235.00p -5.18%

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 12,030.00p -5.13%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 93.50p -4.86%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,126.00p -4.67%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,704.00p -4.44%

Barclays (BARC) 415.05p -3.76%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,495.00p -3.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.31p 2.85%

Avon Technologies (AVON) 2,565.00p 2.40%

Travis Perkins (TPK) 618.00p 1.98%

Premier Foods (PFD) 203.20p 1.91%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 745.00p 1.71%

Big Yellow Group (BYG) 939.00p 1.57%

Rightmove (RMV) 519.60p 1.56%

Savills (SVS) 1,094.00p 1.48%

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 275.40p 1.47%

EnQuest (ENQ) 31.90p 1.43%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 530.50p -8.85%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,548.00p -8.78%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 175.00p -6.32%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 104.50p -6.19%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 592.50p -5.95%

Amaroq Ltd. Npv (DI) (AMRQ) 97.20p -5.63%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 261.40p -5.43%

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 659.00p -5.32%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,736.00p -5.18%

THG (THG) 39.18p -5.04%