The blue-chip index closed up 0.6 per cent
European shares bounce back after dip
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London’s FTSE 100 ended higher on Friday after heavyweight lenders offset another slide in data analytics firm RELX, giving the index a positive finish to a week that had been marred by a tech sell-off.
The blue-chip index closed up 0.6 per cent, securing a second straight weekly gain, helped also by the Bank of England signalling on Thursday that interest rates could fall if the drop in inflation is sustained.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.5 per cent but still logged a second straight week of losses.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.9 per cent at 617.12 points.
Stellantis tanked 25.2 per cent, its biggest single-day drop on record and sent the broader auto sector index down 3 per cent.
Meanwhile, defence stocks were among top gainers with a 1.6 per cent rise. Norway’s Kongsberg jumped 15.6 per cent after reporting a bigger-than-expected rise in operating profit for the fourth quarter.
Banks, which had rallied for much of last year, were up 1.4 per cent on the day. Société Générale edged 2.2 per cent lower after the French lender reported a sharp drop in investment banking trading revenue.
Among individual movers, weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk gained 5.3 per cent.
