(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended firmly in the black on Thursday, underpinned by better-than-expected UK GDP data and a strong showing from software-related names, and shrugging off another tech selloff in Asia.
The FTSE 100 closed up 1.1% at 10,840.35, avoiding a selloff thanks to its limited exposure to the tech sector.
Patrick Munelly at Tickmill Group said: "UK equities staged a firm rally as resilient August GDP data confirmed the economy's underlying momentum and helped push the benchmark back above the 10,800 mark.
"While persistent US inflation readings and sharp pullbacks in tech and mining names provided friction, a retreat in sovereign Gilt yields and strong momentum across telecom and retail blue-chips kept the market on solid footing."
Investors were mulling the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, which showed the economy grew by more than expected in August.
Real gross domestic product ticked up 0.1% in August, a slowdown on July's 0.4% expansion, and by 0.7% over the three months. Consensus had been for the economy to shrink by 0.1% month-on-month, however, and to grow by a more modest 0.5% in the three months to August.
The biggest month-on-month growth was seen in production. The sector reported growth of 0.8%, in comparison to no growth in services and a 0.2% decline in construction.
However, the UK's dominant services sector drove the quarterly growth, despite the tepid August showing, after particularly strong performances in June and July. Overall, the services sector expanded by 0.9% in June to August, and helped offset a 0.2% softening in production and a 1.0% slide in construction.
The three-month print is regarded as a less volatile measure than the monthly data.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "Upward revisions to already strong services growth in June and July helped drive robust growth across the three months, despite services showing no growth in August.
"Computer programming was once against the largest contributor to growth in the three months to August. Looking at the longer-term picture, compared with the same three-month period a year ago, the increased strength now seen in services is evident not just in computer programming but across a range of business-facing industries, including legal services, research and development, and advertising."
In equity markets, software-related stocks were the best performers on the FTSE 100, with Experian, Sage Group, Autotrader, Relx and LSEG all higher.
THG surged as it lifted its FY26 adjusted EBITDA expectations, while homeware retailer Dunelm gained as it reported a jump in first-quarter sales despite a soft market.
XPS Pensions shot up as it said full-year results were set to be slightly ahead of its expectations following strong revenue growth in the first half.
Big Yellow rose as it said it was "continually" evaluating all options for maximising shareholder value after activist investor Ancora Holdings Group urged the self-storage company to explore a sale.
On the downside, Computacenter and Polar Capital Technology Trust suffered heavy losses amid the tech selloff, while Mondi slumped as it said costs were higher than expected in the third quarter.
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta was also weaker after a third-quarter production update underwhelmed and as the blue chip raised its costs forecast.
Workspace fell as it reported a dip in total portfolio occupancy in the second quarter and said customer activity was lower.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,840.35 1.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,424.77 0.26%
techMARK (TASX) 6,251.60 0.81%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Experian (EXPN) 2,855.00p 5.90%
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,133.50p 5.64%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 166.80p 4.45%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 32.72p 4.40%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 92.26p 4.32%
BT Group (BT.A) 206.90p 4.26%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 533.60p 4.14%
Relx plc (REL) 2,886.00p 4.00%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,684.00p 3.85%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,088.00p 3.62%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Computacenter (CCC) 5,160.00p -5.58%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,426.00p -4.09%
Weir (WEIR) 2,614.00p -3.97%
Halma (HLMA) 3,398.00p -2.58%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 291.60p -2.41%
SEGRO (SGRO) 923.40p -2.31%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,776.00p -2.12%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,671.00p -1.87%
IMI (IMI) 2,950.00p -1.80%
Diploma (DPLM) 7,815.00p -1.45%
FTSE 250 - Risers
THG (THG) 32.00p 16.28%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 864.50p 7.93%
XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 334.00p 7.74%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 264.20p 6.53%
Rightmove (RMV) 534.80p 6.20%
Vistry Group (VTY) 240.00p 5.54%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 884.50p 5.05%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 223.80p 4.78%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 523.50p 4.70%
Globaldata (DATA) 64.90p 4.68%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 311.80p -15.82%
Mondi (MNDI) 753.00p -7.86%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,878.00p -7.49%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,710.00p -7.06%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,795.00p -6.99%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 589.00p -6.58%
Workspace Group (WKP) 344.40p -5.95%
Volex (VLX) 634.00p -5.93%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 815.00p -5.78%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 646.50p -4.65%
115.49 (1.08%)
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