BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After posting gains in the previous three sessions, the U.K. market is exhibiting some weakness on Thursday, weighed down by losses in select mining, financials and energy stocks. Investors digesting the latest batch of earnings news and economic data.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 9.33 points or 0.1% at 9,155.90 a few minutes before noon.
Rio Tinto is declining by more than 4%. Diploma is down 3.5%, while Beazley and GSK are down 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively.
BP, Shell, Unilever, Halma, Fresnillo, IMI, Anglo American Plc, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Convatec Group are also down in negative territory with notable losses.
Admiral Group is rising nearly 5%, lifted by a whopping 67% surge in half-year pretax profit.
Aviva is gaining 3.5% after reporing a 22% jump in operating profit in the first half of 2025.
Centrica, Babcock International, BAE Systems, Natwest Group and Rolls-Royce Holdings are up 2 to 2.7%.
National Grid shares are gaining more than 1% after the company agreed to sell its Grain LNG business to a consortium comprising Centrica plc and Energy Capital Partners LLC.
BT Group, Marks & Spencer, Segro, Melrose Industries, WPP and M&G are also notably higher.
In economic news, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK economy rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace in June, with gross domestic product growing 0.4%, following a 0.1% decline in May. Output was forecast to grow 0.2%.
Industrial production increased 0.7%, reversing a revised 1.3% fall.
In the second quarter, real GDP expanded 0.3% sequentially and 1.1% from the previous year.
Another data from the ONS showed that the visible trade deficit remained largely unchanged at GBP 22.16 billion in June. The total trade that combines goods and services showed a shortfall of GBP 5 billion compared to a GBP 4.5 billion deficit in May.
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