UK stocks remained relatively stable on Thursday despite political upheaval in France, where Prime Minister Michel Barnier suffered a defeat in a no-confidence vote.
The FTSE 100 index saw a slight increase, closing at 8,343, recovering from a 0.3 percent drop experienced on Wednesday.
Vodafone's shares gained approximately 1 percent following the approval by the national antitrust authority for its $19 billion merger with Hutchison's Three UK.
DS Smith, specializing in paper and packaging, experienced a 1.2 percent decline after reporting a drop in both revenue and profits for the first half of the year.
AstraZeneca's stock edged up by 0.5 percent, bolstered by the FDA's approval of Imfinzi for treating limited-stage small cell lung cancer.
Shares of Shell fell by over 1 percent after announcing a joint venture with Equinor UK to consolidate their UK offshore oil and gas assets into a new entity.
Future Plc's shares surged by 15 percent as it released its full-year financial results for 2024.
Conversely, Frasers Group experienced a 12 percent decline after the sportswear and fashion retailer reduced the upper range of its full-year profit forecast.
