FX.co ★ FTSE 100 Snaps 6-Day Winning Streak

The FTSE 100 faced a decline on Friday, breaking a six-day stretch of gains, triggered by weaker-than-anticipated UK retail figures. Retail sales for June increased by 0.9%, falling short of projections, and May's steep decline was adjusted downward to -2.8%, marking the poorest performance since December 2023. Additionally, consumer confidence waned, with GfK's index indicating a dip as households prepare for potential tax increases in the autumn. Rightmove saw a drop of over 2%, despite exceeding H1 profit expectations, due to warnings of a slowdown in growth for the second half of the year. JD Sports closed with a minor loss, though it recovered from earlier session lows, driven by worries over US tariffs following Puma's reduction of its earnings forecast. Positively, the company noted a resurgence in the property market, with listing and demand figures rising by 9% and 6% respectively, year-on-year in June. Meanwhile, NatWest's shares jumped nearly 2.5% after it revised its full-year income projection to over £16 billion and unveiled a £750 million share buyback plan for H2 2025. Despite the decline on Friday, the FTSE 100 registered its fifth consecutive weekly gain, remaining close to record highs.