(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Friday after a better-than-expected UK GDP reading, as investors eyed a key US inflation print and as Brent crude eased off highs.
The FTSE 100 was 0.6% firmer at 10,673.24, while Brent crude was down 3.6% at $103.78 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 3.3% lower at $99.12 following a report that Gulf states are considering meeting with Iranian officials next week to discuss the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the Financial Times, the meeting is scheduled for Monday in the Omani coastal city of Salalah.
On home shores, figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the economy expanded 0.4% in July, beating expectations for no growth. This followed 0.3% growth in June and no growth in May.
Services growth was 0.4%, while production and construction saw growth of 0.2% and of 0.1%, respectively.
In the three months to July, the economy grew 0.4% compared with the previous three months.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "Growth remained relatively robust in the latest three months, as ongoing strength in the services sector was only partially offset by falls in both production and construction.
"Within services, computer programming was the largest contributor, continuing the strong growth seen throughout the year, with evidence that businesses involved with AI and related technologies helped to boost this sector.
"Continuing recent trends, research and development and rental and leasing also helped drive growth, while wholesaling saw a notable fall.
"Looking at the latest month, services also drove growth in July, with computer programming again making the largest contribution. Separately, as in June, some businesses reported that the warm weather and FIFA World Cup had affected their activity, although effects differed across industries, benefitting some businesses while creating challenges for others."
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "While it's far from a rip-roaring recovery, it does suggest the UK economy has more staying power than feared, particularly given the pressure households and businesses are facing from scorchingly high energy prices and elevated borrowing costs."
Looking to the rest of the day, attention will turn to the US consumer price index for August at 1330 BST.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The CPI report in the US is the key macro event for today, and it could decide if the Fed hikes rates next week. Currently there is a 67% chance of a hike, down from 71% on Thursday. The market expects headline CPI to remain at 3.4% for August, and core prices to fall a notch to 2.4%. Overall, a backwards CPI report is less important for financial markets today than real-time movements in the oil price, so if CPI comes in roughly in line with expectations, market moves could be limited."
On the corporate front, online ticket platform Trainline rallied as it held guidance and launched a new £100m share buyback after delivering flat sales and revenue for the half year. Group net ticket sales came in at £3.3bn for the six months to 31 August and group underlying revenue was £233m, 1% lower year-on-year.
Housebuilder Berkeley reversed earlier losses to trade a touch higher as it said housing market activity has been further impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and political uncertainty in the UK, with buyers "more cautious to commit".
The firm, which earlier this year reduced production to focus on cash generation rather than short-term profit targets in response to the Iran war, told shareholders the conflict had continued longer than initially anticipated, while "ongoing political change and uncertainty" was further impacting housing sentiment.
XP Power surged after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Jefferies, while Halma was boosted by an upgrade to 'hold' from 'underperform' by the same outfit.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,673.24 0.61%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,993.82 0.45%
techMARK (TASX) 5,973.84 0.76%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 17,740.00p 2.48%
Investec (INVP) 663.50p 1.84%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,455.40p 1.82%
Informa (INF) 889.00p 1.76%
Computacenter (CCC) 5,215.00p 1.75%
BT Group (BT.A) 203.40p 1.75%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,882.00p 1.73%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 694.20p 1.70%
Standard Life (SDLF) 925.50p 1.59%
Barclays (BARC) 492.05p 1.54%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
The Sage Group (SGE) 961.00p -1.88%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,394.00p -1.55%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 30.68p -0.90%
BP (BP.) 561.60p -0.48%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 78.64p -0.40%
Relx plc (REL) 2,484.00p -0.36%
SEGRO (SGRO) 929.00p -0.30%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,337.00p -0.30%
Experian (EXPN) 2,774.00p -0.22%
3i Group (III) 2,633.00p -0.15%
FTSE 250 - Risers
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,936.00p 7.56%
Chemring Group (CHG) 538.50p 4.06%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.50p 3.39%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 591.50p 3.14%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,115.00p 2.77%
Trainline (TRN) 194.60p 2.58%
RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 2,555.00p 2.40%
Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 961.80p 2.08%
Vistry Group (VTY) 263.60p 2.01%
Mony Group (MONY) 192.80p 2.01%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Gamma Communications (GAMA) 1,118.00p -4.77%
THG (THG) 26.90p -2.89%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 269.80p -2.88%
Globaldata (DATA) 67.90p -2.37%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 123.80p -1.82%
Victrex plc (VCT) 981.00p -1.51%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,086.00p -1.45%
Energean (ENOG) 785.00p -1.38%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 64.30p -1.38%
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 1,062.00p -1.30%
41.52 (0.39%)
0.00