U.K. Stock Market Review

U.K. stocks closed higher on Friday, driven by strong gains in the Aerospace & Defense, Food & Drug Retailers, and Food Producers sectors.

At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 index rose by 0.86%.

Top Performers

• Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LON:RKT): Up by 6.62% (310.00 points) to 4,994.00.
• Schroders PLC (LON:SDR): Up by 4.30% (14.80 points) to 358.80.
• Intermediate Capital Group PLC (LON:ICGIN): Up by 3.30% (68.00 points) to 2,130.00.

Worst Performers

• Smurfit WestRock PLC (LON:SWR): Down by 2.12% (85.00 points) to 3,930.00.
• Vistry Group PLC (LON:VTYV): Down by 1.65% (15.00 points) to 894.50.
• Entain PLC (LON:ENT): Down by 1.42% (10.60 points) to 734.40.

Market Overview

On the London Stock Exchange, rising stocks outnumbered declining ones, with 1,091 advancing compared to 633 falling, and 725 remaining unchanged.

Commodity Prices

• Gold Futures (December delivery): Up 0.09% ($2.45) at $2,751.75 per troy ounce.
• Crude Oil (December delivery): Up 1.00% ($0.69) at $69.95 per barrel.
• Brent Oil (January contract): Up 0.99% ($0.72) at $73.53 per barrel.

Currency Exchange Rates

• GBP/USD: Up 0.39% to 1.29.
• EUR/GBP: Down 0.70% to 0.84.
• U.S. Dollar Index Futures: Up 0.21% at 104.10.