FTSE 100 retreats after record high; Tesco gains

(Reuters) -London's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, although it touched another record high during the session, dragged down by losses in healthcare and energy stocks, while Tesco shares climbed after the supermarket giant lifted its annual profit outlook.

The blue-chip index closed 0.2% lower.

Tesco topped the index's gains, rising 5.2% after raising its full-year profit forecast, citing a strong customer response to its investments and continued market share gains.

The energy sector, however, fell 0.6%, with oil majors BP and Shell falling nearly 1% as oil prices extended their slide to a fourth day amid oversupply concerns.

The industrial support services sector declined 1.4%, with credit data company Experian falling 4.2% to become the index's worst performer.

The drop followed an announcement from FICO launching a direct-to-reseller licensing model for its credit score algorithm, potentially reducing reliance on credit bureaus such as Experian.

Healthcare stocks, which had surged 8.7% on Wednesday, eased 0.3%.

The previous day's rally was fuelled by optimism following Pfizer's deal with the U.S. administration, which analysts suggested had reduced regulatory uncertainty hanging over the pharmaceutical sector.

The domestically-focused FTSE 250 midcap index ended flat on the day.

Morgan Sindall jumped 11.4% to record-high levels, providing the biggest boost to the index after the construction company said financial year 2025 results would be "significantly" ahead of its expectations.

Among other stocks, 3i Group advanced 4.1% following a Bloomberg News report that the private equity firm is exploring potential divestments of its assets, including French information technology maintenance provider Evernex.

Asset manager ICG rose 2.4% after announcing an expected one-off gain of 65 million to 75 million pounds ($88 million-$101 million) in the first half of financial year 2026, stemming from changes to performance fee revenue recognition.

($1 = 0.7410 pounds)

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru. Editing by Vijay Kishore and Mark Potter)