UK stocks experienced a significant increase on Friday, in response to retail sales in January exceeding expectations considerably.
After a slump of 3.3% in December, retail sales saw an unexpected surge of 3.4% in January. Economists had previously projected an increase of 1.5% for the month.
On Thursday, the benchmark FTSE 100 edged up 0.4%, and this upward trend continued into Friday with the index rising by 49 points or 0.7%, ending at 7,647.
However, Dialight, a global leader in LED lighting for heavy industrial uses, suffered a near 2% drop. This was in response to the news that Fariyal Khanbabi, the company’s CEO, had decided to unexpectedly exit her position as a director and step down as CEO with immediate effect.
NatWest Group's stocks, on the other hand, increased by over 2%. The bank reported its largest annual profit from the past year, a success not seen since before the financial crash of 2007. Warehousing group Segro also saw a 1.3% rise in its stocks after it reported it had managed to cut down on its pre-tax loss for the fiscal year ending in 2023, thanks to increased rent growth and a high demand from occupiers.
