U.K. stocks experienced modest gains on Thursday morning, buoyed by positive data indicating an expansion in the country's GDP for November, alongside support from the mining sector due to rising metal prices.
The FTSE 100, the principal stock index, increased to 8,373.04, recording a gain of 72.15 points or a 0.87% rise.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the U.K. economy saw slight growth in November after experiencing two successive months of contraction. The gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1% on a month-to-month basis in November, following an unchanged decline of 0.1% in October. Economists had anticipated a growth rate of 0.2%.
The data highlighted the services sector as the primary driver of this growth, with its output increasing by 0.1%, a recovery from a 0.1% decline in October.
The reduction in industrial production eased slightly to 0.4% from 0.6%, while manufacturing output fell by 0.3%, improving from a 0.6% drop the previous month.
For November, GDP was estimated to be 1% higher compared to the same month in 2023, although this was below economists' predictions of 1.3% growth. Over the three months leading up to November, the real GDP showed no growth compared to the preceding three-month period.
In a separate report, the Office for National Statistics indicated that the visible trade gap remained relatively stable in November, recorded at GBP 19.31 billion, compared to a GBP 19.33 billion deficit in October.
In market movements, RightMove shares surged nearly 5%. Companies in the mining sector such as Fresnillo and Antofagasta, along with LondonMetric Property, saw gains of about 4%. Endeavour Mining, Experian, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Beazley, Glencore, and Entain displayed increases between 2% and 3%.
Stocks like Rio Tinto, Prudential, BAE Systems, DCC, Weir Group Holdings, Anglo American Plc, Smith & Nephew, IMI, Diageo, GSK, 3i, Auto Trader Group, HSBC Holdings, Halma, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, and AstraZeneca recorded gains ranging from 1.5% to 1%.
However, Taylor Wimpey experienced a decline of over 4.5%, and EasyJet fell by approximately 3%. JD Sports Fashion, Pearson, Associated British Foods, Whitbread, BT, and Marks & Spencer saw reductions of 1% to 2.5%.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
