The FTSE 100 rose 0.5% on Thursday, largely shielded from a sharp global selloff in technology stocks thanks to its limited tech exposure and solid gains in defensive, consumer, and healthcare names. Global equity markets came under pressure after Meta announced plans to sell access to artificial intelligence computing power, triggering a broad decline in technology shares.
In London, heavyweight defensives led the advance: AstraZeneca gained more than 2%, GSK rose 1.9%, BAE Systems nearly 1.5%, Unilever 1.5%, and British American Tobacco 1.8%. These increases more than offset weakness in other sectors, including 0.8% declines for miners Rio Tinto and Glencore and a 0.6% fall for HSBC.
Sentiment was further supported by corporate dealmaking and earnings news. Capricorn Energy jumped after agreeing to a £271 million all-cash takeover by Genel Energy at 357p per share. CMC Markets advanced following an upgrade to its earnings guidance and a positive analyst recommendation. Currys also underpinned the market, reporting full-year results in line with analyst expectations and unveiling a £50 million share buyback programme.
