FTSE 100 edges higher, retail stocks slip on Black Friday

The FTSE 100 rose on Friday, with gains in energy and defensive shares offsetting weakness in retail stocks as Black Friday sales began against a backdrop of a worsening cost-of-living crisis. The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, set to end with weekly gains of 1.4% on hopes of smaller rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The FTSE 100 rose on Friday, with gains in energy and defensive shares offsetting weakness in retail stocks as Black Friday sales began against a backdrop of a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, set to end with weekly gains of 1.4% on hopes of smaller rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve. REITs and homebuilders fell the most in morning trade, while residential property services provider LSL Property Services was down 11.5% after flagging a bleak fiscal 2022 outlook.

Berenberg does not expect the trough in UK homebuilders' earnings to occur until 2024, the brokerage said in a note on Friday, reiterating its cautious view on the sector. Retail stocks dropped 0.3% on Black Friday, which typically marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

"Britons are expected to spend 8.7 bln pounds over the Black Friday weekend, but there's a very real chance the cost-of-living crisis will dampen sales," said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "There's a broader awareness these days that not all Black Friday deals are great value, meaning the sale factor might not be enough to pull in struggling consumers."

UK markets have recovered sharply from their October lows, when a botched mini-budget roiled investor sentiment, with the FTSE 100 hovering near two-month highs as new government leadership tries to restore confidence in the British economy. Energy stocks were a bright spot, gaining 1.3% on higher oil prices.

The domestically focussed FTSE 250 midcap slid 0.4%, but the index is on track for a gain of nearly 1% on the week. Among individual stocks, Devro jumped 60.2% after Saria Nederland B.V. agreed to acquire the collagen casings maker in a deal valued at about 540 million pounds.

Man Group lost 1.6% after UBS cut the investment manager's rating to "neutral" from "buy". 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)