London’s FTSE slips on defence drag, eyes strong monthly gain

(Reuters) – UK’s FTSE edged lower on Friday amid low trading volumes, as losses in defence shares outweighed strength in miners, with the benchmark stock index on track for strong gains in a month marked by U.S. elections and geopolitical tensions.

The FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower at 1045 GMT, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.1%. Trading volumes are expected to be low, with the U.S. equity market open for half a day following Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

Both the indexes were set for their biggest monthly gain since July, with automobiles and personal goods emerging as the top sectoral performers in November.

This month, global financial markets were rattled by fears of trade tariffs proposed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and heightened geopolitical tensions that drove investors to safe-haven assets.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England warned that higher trade barriers could impact global growth and feed inflation uncertainties, potentially causing financial market volatility.

All eyes are on major central bank policy decisions next month, with the BoE widely seen holding rates while the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank rate are expected to make cuts.

Among top moving stocks, Anglo American rose 3% following a Jefferies’ rating upgrade to “buy” from “hold”, boosting industrial metal miners.

The aerospace and defence sector dropped 1%, mainly due to 4% declines in both BAE Systems and Qinetiq shares after BofA Global Research downgraded the defence stocks.

Among others, London-listed Georgian banks TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia dropped 7% and 5%, respectively, as the Georgian government is set to suspend talks on European Union accession and refuse budgetary grants until 2028.

Spire Healthcare climbed 7.5% following a media report that India’s Narayana Health is in advanced talks to acquire a controlling stake in the company.

Direct Line rose 2.5%, adding to Thursday’s surge, after a report said Aviva contacted the insurer’s investors, possibly paving the way for a hostile takeover.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)