Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 24, 2025
(Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 slipped on Friday, as a jump in sterling hurt export-oriented firms, while Burberry soared after a strong U.S. holiday season helped the luxury firm beat quarterly sales expectations.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 dipped 0.3% by 1214 GMT, but still looked on course for its fifth straight week of gains.
The benchmark hit a record high this week, as global stocks surged on signs that U.S. President Donald Trump was taking a softer stance towards tariffs against China and looking to boost the U.S. economy by lowering taxes and making big AI investments.
Sterling climbed 0.5% against the dollar on Friday as a lack of concrete tariff policies during Trump's first week in office hurt the dollar, and in turn weighed on shares of global companies such as Shell and HSBC.
UK-listed global miners such as Antofagasta, Glencore and Rio Tinto climbed as copper prices jumped to their highest in more than two months on hopes of a U.S. trade deal with China.
The FTSE 250 midcap index gained 0.3%, boosted by a 13% surge in Burberry shares after it reported a smaller-than-expected 4% drop in quarterly comparable store sales and said it was now more likely to record a profit over its financial year.
The results boosted shares of other European luxury firms including Kering and LVMH.
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing rose 3.8% after renewing its supply agreement with Amazon.
Meanwhile, a survey showed tepid growth across British businesses picked up only slightly at the start of 2025, with employment and optimism contracting again while price pressures rose, underscoring the challenge facing the Bank of England (BoE).
The survey was the latest sign of lacklustre growth and a weakening jobs market since finance minister Rachel Reeves raised payroll taxes for businesses in her budget on Oct. 30.
Traders expect an 81% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut on Feb. 6, when the BoE policymakers meet next.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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