The FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday, supported by gains in the healthcare, defence and energy sectors. Among drugmakers, AstraZeneca rose about 1.6%, GSK gained 0.9% and Hikma Pharmaceuticals advanced 1.4%. Defence stocks also traded firmly, with BAE Systems up 0.5%, Babcock International climbing nearly 2% and Rolls-Royce posting modest gains. Oil majors benefited from a recovery in crude prices, with BP up 1.5% and Shell 0.7%.
By contrast, banks and miners dragged on the index. Lloyds Banking Group fell 1.8%, while Barclays and NatWest lost between 0.7% and 0.9%. HSBC and Standard Chartered also finished lower. In the mining segment, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta declined between 0.3% and 1.1%.
In politics, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham won the closely watched Makerfield by-election with 54.8% of the vote, strengthening his profile as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On the macroeconomic front, UK public sector borrowing rose to £23.3 billion in May, exceeding forecasts, while retail sales rebounded by 1.2%, beating expectations.
Despite Friday’s advance, the FTSE 100 still ended the week more than 0.5% lower.
