FTSE 100 Down Slightly; Standard Chartered Shares Up Sharply
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are turning in a mixed performance in cautious trade on Friday, amid a lack of fresh triggers. Investors are awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech later in the day at the Jackson Hole Symposium, for clues about U.S. central bank's interest rate move next month.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was last seen at 9,302.16, down 7.04 points or 0.08% from previous closing level.
Standard Chartered is rising 3.75%. Airtel Africa is up nearly 2%, while IAG, Pershing Square Holdings, Centrica, Mondi, WPP, BAE Systems, EasyJet, Persimmon and Lloyds Banking Group are gaining 0.6 to 1.2%.
Beauty retailer Revolution Beauty is soaring nearly 21% after successfully raising £15 million through a placing and subscription of new ordinary shares.
Among the losers, RightMove is down 1.6%, Coca-Cola HBC is declining 1.1%, and Prudential is down by about 1%.
Endeavour Mining, Severn Trent, Glencore, Admiral Group, Games Workshop, Tesco, The Sage Group and Associated British Foods are down 0.7 to 0.9%.
In economic news, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index for the UK climbed to -17 in August from -19 in July, the strongest reading in a year, supported by the Bank of England's recent interest rate cut.
Views on the country's economic situation over the past year rose two points to -42, though still seven points below last August. Expectations for the next 12 months slipped one point to -30, 15 points weaker than a year earlier. Meanwhile, the major purchase index, reflecting confidence in big-ticket spending, rose two points to -13.
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