The FTSE 100 Index Closes 0.37% Higher

The FTSE 100 Index rose 40 points or 0.37 percent on Friday to close at 10881 points. Leading the gains are Babcock International (3.58%), Kingfisher (2.80%) and Weir (2.68%). Top losers were Scottish Mortgage (-3.23%), AstraZeneca (-2.09%) and Natwest (-1.69%).

The FTSE 100 recovered from earlier losses to finish higher on Friday, as gains in defence, consumer and energy stocks outweighed weakness in the banking sector. Submarine contractor Babcock rose more than 3%, while BAE Systems gained around 2.5%. Unilever advanced 1% and British American Tobacco climbed 2.3%, while Shell and BP each added approximately 0.8%. Mining stocks also strengthened, with Rio Tinto up 0.8% and Glencore gaining 1.7%. Banks remained under pressure amid reports that Chancellor John Healey plans to raise taxes on lenders in the upcoming budget. Lloyds Banking Group fell more than 1% after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to sector-perform from outperform, while NatWest declined 1.7%. Pharmaceutical shares also lagged, with AstraZeneca down 2% and GSK losing 0.7%. The FTSE 100 gained around 3% over the week, following a 0.9% rise in the previous week.

The FTSE 100 traded slightly lower on Friday, lagging other European markets as concerns over potential tax increases weighed on UK banking shares. Reports that Chancellor John Healey plans to raise taxes on banks in his upcoming budget put pressure on the sector, with Lloyds falling 2.5%, NatWest dropping 2% and Barclays losing 0.6%. Lloyds also faced pressure after RBC Capital Markets downgraded its rating to sector-perform from outperform. Ithaca Energy declined more than 2% after CEO Luciano Vasques announced plans to retire by the end of March 2027, prompting the board to begin its search for a successor. Pharmaceutical stocks weakened, with AstraZeneca down 1.4% and GSK losing 1%, while Rio Tinto fell more than 1%. Defence stocks offered some support, as BAE Systems rose 0.9% and Rolls-Royce gained 0.6%. Also, British American Tobacco added 0.7%. Despite Friday’s weakness, the FTSE 100 remained on track for a weekly gain of around 2.5%, following last week’s 0.9% rise.