FTSE 100 edges higher after slow start to the week

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

London’s FTSE 100 has clawed back some of its losses from a downbeat week, with European investors in generally better spirits.

The UK’s top share index was up 47.98 points, or 0.59%, to 8,231.05.

Auto Trader was the biggest riser of the day, with shares soaring by 15% after the online marketplace revealed higher yearly profits.

The firm said that it was benefiting from strong levels of demand across both new and used car markets, with second-hand cars continuing to sell faster than before the pandemic.

It helped lift the FTSE 100 higher on Thursday, with retailers Frasers Group, JD Sports and Burberry also making gains.

Elsewhere for top indices in Europe, Germany’s Dax moved 0.13% higher and France’s Cac rose by 0.55%.

It was a weaker start to trading across the pond with the US’s S&P down about 0.4% and Dow Jones down 0.9% by the time European markets closed.

The latest inflation data is set to be the released in the US on Friday, which will be watched closely by investors looking for clues as to when the central bank can begin cutting interest rates.

The Federal Reserve previously said it was not prepared to reduce interest rates until there are clear signs that inflationary pressures have diminished.

Meanwhile, the pound was up about 0.3% against the US dollar at 1.2737, and more or less flat against the euro at 1.1753.

The price of Brent crude oil fell by 1.5% to 82.35 US dollars per barrel.

In other company news, shares in National World moved higher during the day but dipped into the red in the afternoon, after updating shareholders on its sales performance.

The newspaper group said that its total revenues jumped by nearly a fifth over the latest year, compared with the previous year, as it steams ahead with plans to automate parts of its production processes.

Its share price closed 1.25% lower after rising by about 6% during the day.

Elsewhere, Dr Martens announced a swathe of cost-cutting plans as it revealed its profit slumped by more than 40% in the latest year.

The bootmaker hopes to save up to £25 million in the coming financial year, which will come from actions to make it more efficient.

The results were largely expected by the group so it did not have a big impact on its share price, which ticked up by 0.1% at close.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Auto Trader, up 94.4p to 825p, Ocado, up 23.4p to 383.5p, Frasers, up 50p to 875p, JD Sports, up 7.1p to 133.8p, and St James’s Place, up 21p to 506p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Sage Group, down 44.5p to 1,015.5p, CocaCola HBC, down 94p to 2,640p, Antofagasta, down 65p to 2,205p, Severn Trent, down 47p to 2,336p, and Intertek, down 76p to 4,754p.