Britain's top share index rose on Friday in choppy trade as robust US retail data gave a boost to European markets, though shares in Inmarsat and Coca-Cola HBC fell. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent at 6,138.50 at its close, gaining after US retail sales in April recorded their biggest increase in a year, suggesting the US economy was regaining momentum.
The rally was broad-based, with British supermarkets, banks and mining companies among the top risers. Fresnillo rose 3.7 percent as gold rebounded from recent falls. However, a 4.2 percent fall in satellite communications company Inmarsat hampered gains after an outlook cut from sector peer Eutelsat sent its shares more than 27 percent lower.
Inmarsat stock is down over 21 percent since it cut its own full-year outlook on May 5. "Now people are beginning to worry that there is more to come within the sector. The read-across is showing that it wasn't just a one-off issue for Inmarsat, but there are broader problems which will flow through the whole sector," said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG.
Bottling firm Coca-Cola HBC also fell, down 3.5 percent after adverse currency movements hit its revenue, although underlying trends improved in its established emerging markets. "Pricing trends were soft in the quarter but developing markets are improving and there is encouraging volume growth in both emerging and developing markets," Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said in a note.
Broadcaster ITV was also among the top fallers, down 2.4 percent and extending its losses from the previous session as brokers including Deutsche Bank, Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and UBS cut their price targets on the stock. ITV cut its advertising revenue forecast on Thursday, saying that companies were holding back from buying advertising in the build-up to next month's European Union referendum in Britain. "The ad outlook is even worse than expected. Consensus should be cutting FY'16, but also needs to start thinking further out. This is not a temporary Brexit blip," Laurie Davison, research analyst at Deutsche Bank, said in a note.