Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 14, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFTSE 100 closes at a record high, driven by defence and financial stocks, despite mixed economic data and sector performances.
(Reuters) -Britain's FTSE 100 hit a record closing high on Thursday, propelled by defence and financial sector gains, while investors assessed key economic data.
The blue-chip index gained for a fourth consecutive day, ending up 0.1%. The midcap index declined 0.2%.
Investors responded positively to UK second-quarter GDP figures, which showed that growth slowed less than expected despite U.S. trade tariffs and a weaker jobs market.
While Wall Street retreated following unexpectedly high U.S. producer price inflation data - dampening hopes for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts - the UK benchmark remained resilient.
The aerospace and defence index provided a boost, rising 2%.
Financials added further support as insurer Aviva jumped 2.5% to a 17-year high after raising its interim dividend and reporting a 22% increase in half-year operating profit, boosting the life insurers' index 1.5%.
The non-life insurers index advanced 1.9%, with Admiral Group rising 6.6% after reporting a 67% jump in half-year pretax profit.
British Gas owner Centrica rose 3.7% after announcing it would jointly buy National Grid's Grain LNG terminal with U.S.-based Energy Capital Partners for about 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion).
On the flip side, the energy sector fell 1.4%.
Harbour Energy led the losses, falling 4.8%, while oil major Shell fell over 1%.
Industrial metal miners also retreated 2.3%.
Some major names, including HSBC, BP, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Hiscox, fell close to 1% as their shares went ex-dividend - trading without entitlement to the latest dividend payout.
Among other movers, technical products distributor Diploma fell 2.9% after finance chief Chris Davies stepped down.
($1 = 0.7365 pounds)
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Rashika Singh. Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Mark Potter)
A stock market is a collection of markets where stocks (shares of ownership in businesses) are bought and sold, providing companies with capital and investors with a platform to trade.
Insurance is a financial product that provides protection against financial loss or risk, where individuals or entities pay premiums in exchange for coverage against specific risks.
Financial services encompass a broad range of services provided by the finance industry, including banking, investment, insurance, and asset management.
An investment is an asset or item acquired with the goal of generating income or appreciation, often involving the allocation of resources, usually money, in the expectation of a future return.
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