London’s FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday, adding to a weekly gain that would be its fourth in a row, as consumer staples and financial stocks advanced, while private equity firm Bridgepoint Group helped mid-caps eke out gains.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, with Reckitt Benckiser Group climbing 2% after Barclays raised its price target on the Lysol cleaning products maker’s stock.
Homebuilders, miners and banks rose about 1% each, while Dove soap maker Unilever climbed 1.5% to provide the biggest boost to the index.
Oil majors BP Plc and Shell Plc were mixed after opening sharply lower on volatile crude prices.
“I don’t think that the actual rally in equity prices is sustainable. But I still believe that the FTSE 100 is in a better position to outperform the European and US peers due to high exposure to energy and commodity prices,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote.
“For now, the best place to be in for investors is still oil- and energy-related investments, even though we may see a downside correction after such a strong rally over the past couple of weeks.”
The FTSE 100 has risen 2.1% so far this year, compared with a 6.2% drop in the pan-European STOXX 600 and a 4.9% fall in the US benchmark S&P 500 index.
The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index advanced 0.5% on Friday, with Bridgepoint Group gaining 3.6% after Citigroup upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral”.
Barclays Plc added 1.4% after a proposed multi-billion pound claim brought by thousands of asset managers, pension funds and financial institutions against major banks over alleged foreign exchange rigging was blocked by a London court.
Sportswear and fashion group Frasers gained 2.8% after announcing a new 70 million pound share buyback plan.
UK’s FTSE 100 marks sixth consecutive quarterly gain
Meanwhile, European buyers of Russian gas faced a deadline to start paying in roubles on Friday, while negotiations aimed at ending the five-week war were set to resume even as Ukraine braced for further attacks in the south and east.