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The stock is in London There was little change at the close on Friday, with blue-chip stocks edging lower after setting new records as investors maintained enthusiasm ahead of the U.S. long weekend.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Investors have been wary of non-stop geopolitical issues and mixed messages from the business community so far this year. A quieter day on the corporate reporting calendar gives investors a chance to breathe and take stock of events.”
The FTSE 100 closed down just 3.65 points at 10,235.29. It had earlier touched a fresh intraday high of 10,257.75.
The FTSE 250 index closed up 31.39 points, or 0.1%, at 23,311.37 points; the AIM All Share Index closed only up 0.27 points at 804.75 points.
For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 1.1%, the FTSE 250 rose 1.2% and the AIM All Share Index rose 2.1%.
European stocks on Friday, CAC 40 Paris DAX 40 closed down 0.7% frankfurt It closed down 0.2%.
“European stock indexes were slightly negative on Friday,” commented David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. “Investors appear to be more willing to avoid some risk, and there is no doubt that U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.”
In London, the FTSE 100 was weighed down by weakness in mining stocks, a key factor in the index’s recent strength.
Copper fell 3.0% and silver fell 3.7%, giving up some of its recent gains, while gold’s decline was less severe.
gold Prices were quoted at $4,594.24 an ounce on Friday, down from $4,616.76 an ounce on Thursday.
Affected by this, Endeavor Mining fell 2.7%, Anglo American fell 2.4%, and Antofagasta fell 2.9%. Glencore down 2.5%.
Bank of America strategists downgraded the mining sector to “underweight” and upgraded energy to “market weight.”
“Following the sharp outperformance of the mining sector, potential downside risks from the sector’s macro drivers are becoming difficult to ignore,” Bank of America said.
Bank of America pointed out that the historical divergence in commodity prices has led to the decoupling of European resources from the surge in metal prices in recent months, with copper prices rising by 50%, while energy prices have also “tumbled”, with oil prices recently falling by 30% to a four-year low.
Affected by this, the copper-to-oil ratio has risen to close to a 40-year high, which has led to a clear differentiation in the European resource sector. Since April, the mining industry has outperformed the market by 40%, while the energy sector has underperformed by nearly 15%.
“Pricing in the resources sector looks to be stretching both ways,” Bank of America added.
Brent crude ended higher at $64.48 a barrel on Friday, up from $63.55 late Thursday.
Pearson dropped a further 4.1%, capping a miserable week for investors.
Shares in the education publisher fell 12% this week as the trading update was poorly received.
A previously undisclosed loss on the American Student Assessment contract in New Jersey, which will weigh on first-half growth, has been blamed for the share price decline, although analysts noted that Pearson believes the contract loss will have no impact on other renewals in the coming years.
Property companies British Land and Land Securities rose 1.4% and 1.3% on hopes that lower interest rates will trigger an upturn in the industry, while BAE Systems rose 2.3%, remaining in favor amid geopolitical tensions.
New York stocks were little changed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged lower, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1%, as did the Nasdaq Composite.
Economic data showed that U.S. industrial production grew faster than expected in December.
The Federal Reserve said that on a monthly basis, industrial production increased by 0.4% in December, the same rate as November, which was revised up to 0.2%. That’s better than the 0.1% consensus gain cited by FXStreet.
On an annual basis, total industrial output increased by 2.0% in December compared with the same period last year.
Wells Fargo analyst Shannon Glein said the basic details showed “a key theme from last year — all things high-tech and artificial intelligence related were outperforming.”
She added: “We expect this trend to continue, but it is also worth noting that the slow but steady growth in all other industrial production compared with a year ago suggests that broader economic activity may be starting to recover.”
At the close in London on Friday, the pound was quoted at $1.3382, down from $1.3388 on Thursday.
EURUSD was at 1.1596, down from 1.1607.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield was at 4.21%, higher than 4.16%. The U.S. 30-year Treasury bond yield was at 4.82%, higher than 4.78%.
Back in London, Genus led the FTSE 250 up 7.8% after reporting adjusted pre-tax profits of around £50m for the six months to December 31, beating forecasts.
Berenberg noted that this was “the second guidance upgrade in the past three months, making it one of the outperforming companies in our coverage.”
The bank added: “Importantly, the upgrade was driven by strong trading in the PIC (hog) business, which reflects the benefits of the group’s shift to a royalty-driven model. This enhances the defensiveness and predictability of earnings and sets a very positive tone for a year where we believe there will be more positive catalysts ahead.”
The biggest gainers in the FTSE 100 were BAE Systems, up 47.0 pence, to 2,088.0 pence; NatWest, up 13.8 pence, to 652.8 pence; Smith Group, up 50.0 pence, to 2,612.0 pence; Schroders Group, up 8.6 pence, to 467.0 pence; National Grid, up 20.5 pence. pence, quoted at 2,612.0 pence. 1,201.5p.
The biggest decliners on the FTSE 100 were Pearson, down 39.6 pence to 939.0 pence; Entain, down 23.8 pence to 703.0 pence; Antofagasta, down 105.0 pence to 3,560.0 pence; Endeavor Mining, down 110.0 pence to 3,996.0 pence. Pence; Glencore, down 12.4p to 3,996.0p; 478.6p.
Monday’s global economic calendar will feature a slew of data from China, including gross domestic product, retail sales and industrial production.
Canada is due to release inflation data, while U.S. financial markets are closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Monday’s UK corporate calendar features a trading announcement from building materials company Marshalls.
Later this week, luxury retailer Burberry, sports retailer JD Sports Fashion and mining company Rio Tinto are due to release trading statements.
Contributed by Alliance News.