𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The FTSE 100 closed lower in London on Thursday, despite a resilient economic growth print, as weak miners and a number of index heavyweights trading ex-dividend weighed.

The FTSE 100 Index closed down 60.48 points, 0.6%, at 10,772.67.

The FTSE 250 ended up 22.83 points, 0.1%, at 24,837.71, while the AIM All-Share closed down 3.05 points, 0.4%, at 800.88.

Mining stocks were prominent fallers.

Antofagasta led the way, down 6.8%, following half-year results, followed by Rio Tinto, down 4.8%, and Fresnillo, down 4.7%, both of which traded ex-dividend.

Also trading ex-dividend, BP was down 1.6%, and Shell was down 1.0%, also not helped by a lower oil price, while London Stock Exchange Group fell 2.2%.

A weaker gold price also held back mining stocks, with the yellow metal trading at 4,369.95 dollars an ounce on Thursday, down from 4,422.11 dollars on Wednesday.

Antofagasta’s first-half results delivered mixed news for investors, with earnings ahead of expectations but debt higher, while the miner also lowered its annual copper production outlook after severe weather in Chile disrupted output.

The company lowered its full-year copper production outlook, after the Los Pelambres mine in Chile was temporarily shut down due to exceptional adverse weather conditions.

Antofagasta now expects copper output in the range of 625,000 to 655,000 tonnes for the whole of 2026, its outlook cut from 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes previously. Copper production was 653,700 tonnes in 2025, down from 664,000 in 2024.

Los Pelambres has resumed operations, but inspections have identified the need for repairs to certain pipeline platforms and water management systems, the company said.

Elsewhere, a positive end to the second quarter provided a welcome lift to otherwise in-line UK economic growth figures, leaving risks to full-year forecasts on the upside.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed UK economic growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, as expected.

The ONS said UK gross domestic product (GDP) advanced 0.4% quarter-on-quarter on the three months to June 30, slowing from a 0.6% rise in the first quarter from the final quarter of 2025.

The reading was in line with the market consensus cited by FXStreet, but ahead of the Bank of England’s expectation of 0.3%.

But in June, GDP growth was 0.3% from a month before, confounding expectations for a 0.1% decline, after the UK economy had been flat in May and down 0.1% in April from March.

Deutsche Bank UK chief economist Sanjay Raja was upbeat after the figures, arguing that the UK economy showed no signs of stopping over spring.

“After a thumping start to the year,” Mr Raja said the second-quarter release takes the annualised growth rate in the first half of the year to a “scorching” 2%.

“And for a second straight quarter, it looks like the UK will take top place in the G7 league table.”

He thinks forecasters will be forced to revisit their forecasts with another marginal upgrade looking likely for the year to 1.1%.

The pound traded at 1.3498 dollars on Thursday afternoon, down from 1.3507 dollars at the equities close on Wednesday.

Against the euro, sterling softened to 1.1701 euros from 1.1704 euros.

The euro stood lower at 1.1535 dollars against 1.1539 dollars.

Against the yen, the dollar was higher at 159.33 yen, compared with 159.24 yen.

In the US, producer price index inflation slowed more than anticipated in July, adding to hopes that interest rates will not be raised.

Analysts at Oxford Economics said beneath the benign headline numbers, services prices rose more strongly.

Nonetheless, they still expect the headline personal consumption expenditures price index to cool to 3.6% year-on-year in July from 3.7% in June, with core PCE inflation, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, steady at 3.3% on-year.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury narrowed to 4.64% on Thursday from 4.67% on Wednesday.

The yield on the US 30-year Treasury trimmed to 5.21% from 5.23%.

In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended down 0.1%.

Stocks in New York were mixed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index was 0.6% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%.

Brent oil for October delivery traded lower at 87.87 dollars a barrel on Thursday afternoon, from 88.88 dollars late on Wednesday.

Back in London, lower bond yields boosted housebuilders, with Persimmon and Barratt Redrow up 2.2% and 2.4% respectively, while insurer Aviva rose 1.7% ahead of half-year results on Friday.

Aviva received a further boost as JPMorgan upgraded the FTSE 100 listing to “overweight” from “neutral” with a price target of 800 pence, raised from 715p.

Analyst Farooq Hanif believes Aviva offers stronger cash generation and capital returns than peers, with a more capital-light earnings mix.

On the FTSE 250, Savills leapt 11% as the real estate services provider said half-year underlying pre-tax profit jumped 47% and revenue 8.4%.

Gaming operator Rank was also in the green, up 6.0%, as it reported increased underlying earnings, and a higher dividend, for its latest financial year.

Rank said all its businesses had shown growth “for a fifth consecutive year, reflecting the return on capital investments and strong growth in gaming machine performance across the group”.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Lion Finance Group, up 660p at 13,380p, British American Tobacco, up 114p at 4,264p, Barratt Redrow, up 7.6p at 328.6p, Computacenter, up 110p at 4,938p and Persimmon, up 26p at 1,195.5p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, down 273p at 3,756p, Rio Tinto, down 359p at 7,166p, Fresnillo, down 143p at 2,873p, Endeavour Mining, down 179p at 4,109p and Metlen Energy & Metals, down 2.07p at 48.68p.

Friday’s global economic calendar has eurozone GDP figures, US retail sales data and the Michigan consumer sentiment index.

Friday’s UK corporate calendar has half-year results from insurer Aviva.

Contributed by Alliance News