Britain’s FTSE 100 was on course for its fifth consecutive week of declines on Friday as investors grappled with uncertainty around the outlook for interest rates and political turmoil in Europe.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.1% by 0715 GMT, putting it on track for a 1% weekly drop.
The knock-on effects from French President Emmanuel Macron’s gamble to call snap elections, a hawkish projection from the Federal Reserve and weaker-than-expected UK GDP data for April all weighed on the British markets this week.
Tesco edged up 0.1% after Britain’s biggest supermarket group reported a 4.6% rise in underlying quarterly sales in its home market and reiterated its forecast.
FTSE nudges lower for week after record run
Crest Nicholson jumped 9.3% after the homebuilder said it rejected a 650 million pound ($828.04 million) revised unsolicited proposal from rival Bellway, saying the deal “significantly undervalued” the group.
Shares of Bellway slid 2.2%. The FTSE 250 midcap index rose 0.1% on the day, but was set for a third straight week of losses.
American Dollar Exchange Rate