Investing.com – U.K. equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Life Insurance/Assurance, Food & Drug Retailers and Mobile Telecommunications sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 rose 0.64% to hit a new 52-week high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 were Phoenix Group Holdings PLC (LON:PHNX), which rose 8.40% or 41.00 points to trade at 529.20 at the close. NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG) added 3.04% or 7.70 points to end at 261.10 and Prudential PLC (LON:PRU) was up 2.56% or 19.40 points to 778.40 in late trade.
Biggest losers included JD Sports Fashion PLC (LON:JD), which lost 6.28% or 7.35 points to trade at 109.75 in late trade. Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) declined 1.76% or 8.40 points to end at 468.30 and Rightmove PLC (LON:RMV) shed 1.59% or 9.20 points to 571.20.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 959 to 788 and 689 ended unchanged on the London Stock Exchange.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.85% or 18.65 to $2,166.05 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.57% or 0.46 to hit $80.61 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 0.52% or 0.45 to trade at $85.33 a barrel.
GBP/USD was down 0.45% to 1.26, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.00% to 0.86.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.42% at 104.10.