U.K. Stocks Subdued As Investors Look For Directional Clues

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are largely subdued Friday morning with investors looking for directional clues and refraining from making significant moves. The focus is on the progress of trade negotiations between U.S. and China, and the upcoming U.S. non-farm payrolls data.

The benchmark FTSE 100, which advanced to 8,833.51 earlier, was up 9.44 points or 0.11% at 8,820.48 nearly an hour before noon.

3i Group, Phoenix Group Holdings, Entain, Persimmon, SSE, Fresnillo, Standard Chartered, Prudential, Barratt Redrow, Marks & Spencer and Taylor Wimpey are up 1 to 1.7%.

HSBC Holdings is gaining about 0.5%. The lender has announced that Sir Mark Tucker will step down as Chairman of the Board of Directors and member of the Board on 30 September 2025.

Babcock International is down nearly 4%. Antofagasta is down 2.2%, while Anglo American Plc., BAE Systems, Experian, Convatec Group, Intertek Group and Endeavour Mining are lower by 1 to 1.25%.

In economic news, UK house prices declined unexpectedly in May after the stamp duty holiday ended in March, data from the mortgage lender Halifax revealed.

House prices dropped 0.4% month-on-month in May, in contrast to the 0.3% increase in April. Prices were expected to grow 0.4%.

On a yearly basis, house price inflation softened to 2.5% in May from 3.2% in the previous month.

The small monthly movements point to a housing market that has remained largely stable, with average prices down by just 0.2% since the start of the year, Halifax Head of Mortgages Amanda Bryden said.

Despite ongoing pressure on household finances and uncertain economic backdrop, Halifax expects the housing market to continue to remain resilient in the coming months.