Earnings Drive FTSE-100 Higher
(RTTNews) - Stocks in the U.K. hit a 7-week high of 7402 amidst strong earnings updates from the corporate sector.
Data released earlier in the day indicated growth in consumer credit and drop in mortgage lending and mortgage approvals in the month of June.
FTSE 100 oscillated between 7,345.25 and 7,402.59, versus the previous close of 7,345.25.
The benchmark index of the London Stock Exchange is currently trading at 7,385.81, up 0.55 percent on an overnight basis.
In the 100-scrip index, 82 are trading above the levels on Thursday.
NatWest Group surged more than 7 percent after it announced special dividends as profits rose.
Online grocery retailer Ocado group follows with a 5.1 percent uptick.
Fresnillo, Rolls Royce Holdings, Aveva Group, Anglo American and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, all rallied more than 4 percent.
Standard Chartered is trading 0.71 percent higher. AstraZeneca which declared quarterly results above estimates is trading 2.6 percent lower.
Avast has declined 3.5 percent. Intertek Group also dropped 3.4 percent.
Lloyds Banking group is the most active scrip with a turnover of 34 million. The scrip has gained 1.7 percent.
The GBPUSD pair gained 0.03 percent to 1.2173 amidst the Dollar Index weakening 0.45 percent to 105.87, from the previous close of 106.35. The pair had touched a four-week high of 1.2246 earlier in the day.
Yields on U.K.'s ten-year bonds increased to 1.9470 percent from Thursday's close of 1.8660.
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