London's FTSE 100 climbs ahead of Easter break

UK's blue-chip index rose on Thursday, on track for its third consecutive week of gains, as a rally in commodity stocks and signs of resilience in the domestic economy outweighed concerns about a US economic slowdown.

The FTSE 100 (. FTSE) rose 0.5% and is on course to end the holiday-shortened week about 1% higher, with gains in oil & gas and healthcare stocks offering support.

Shell (SHEL.L) rose 1.7% as the energy giant forecast higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) output in the first quarter. Drug makers AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and GSK rose more than 1% each.

US stock futures were, however, tepid after data this week highlighted a slowing economy, under pressure from aggressive monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve. US monthly payrolls data will be released on Friday when most markets will be closed for Good Friday.

The midcap FTSE 250 index (. FTMC) rose 0.2%, with London-listed shares of travel firm TUI jumping 7.2% after sharp losses this week.

Signs of cooling inflation and a still robust labor market have raised hopes the UK economy will avoid a recession this year but worries about a weakening US economy and the banking turmoil have sapped sentiment recently.

UK homebuilder stocks (. FTNMX402020) rose 0.4% as mortgage lender Halifax said house prices rose for the third month in a row in March, up 0.8% from February compared with economists' forecast of a 0.3% drop.

"The report noted mortgage rates have continued to trend downwards, housing transactions have picked up slightly and the employment market remains robust. We still see challenges ahead as affordability remains under pressure," said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Robert Walters Plc (RWA.L) fell 7.8% after the recruiter flagged persistent market challenges and said recruitment in the technology industry was hit by lay-offs.

UK markets will be closed from Friday to Monday and reopen on Tuesday.

 

Reuters