Investing.com – U.K. equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the General Retailers, Construction & Materials and Food & Drug Retailers sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 added 0.04% to hit a new 52-week high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 were Sports Direct International PLC (LON:SPD), which rose 4.11% or 12.200 points to trade at 308.800 at the close. EasyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) added 3.97% or 42.000 points to end at 1101.000 and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS) was up 3.81% or 13.00 points to 354.50 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO), which lost 3.38% or 18.00 points to trade at 514.00 in late trade. Rio Tinto PLC (LON:RIO) declined 3.21% or 80.000 points to end at 2409.000 and Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) shed 3.16% or 28.00 points to 856.90.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1363 to 739 and 469 ended unchanged on the London Stock Exchange.
In commodities trading, Gold for December delivery was down 0.03% or 0.35 to $1349.65 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 2.00% or 0.87 to hit $44.36 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 1.61% or 0.74 to trade at $46.78 a barrel.
GBP/USD was down 0.27% to 1.2921, while EUR/GBP rose 0.52% to 0.8643.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.27% at 95.64.