UK's FTSE 100 flat on caution ahead of long holiday weekend

Meanwhile, data showed UK car production rose 5.7% in November but remained below pre-pandemic levels as global chip shortages and supply-chain issues continued to hurt the sector. The automobiles and auto parts index was the worst hit this year, skidding more than 60% year-to-date.

UK's FTSE 100 was flat on Friday, with investors cautious ahead of the long holiday weekend after unexpectedly strong U.S. economic data fanned fears of interest rates staying higher for longer.

The export-oriented FTSE 100 shed 0.2%, while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 added 0.1% by 0924 GMT. Gains of 0.2% in miners were overshadowed by losses of 0.3% in healthcare firms such as GSK.

"Markets leading up to Christmas are seeing signs of low liquidity. But some moves are in terms of data we had from the U.S. yesterday," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. London stocks reversed course to fall on Thursday after data showed better-than-expected U.S. economic activity in the third quarter and a still tight labour market, which stoked fears the Federal Reserve would stick to its aggressive monetary policy stance.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 is currently trading above its 200-day moving average, an indicator used by traders to determine if the market is trading at a bullish or bearish pace. "It's mostly got to do with the composition of the underlying assets for the index and so far for the year, energy has held up the best," Hathorn added.

The energy sector was down 0.2% on Friday but is set to end the year 7.7% higher. Meanwhile, data showed UK car production rose 5.7% in November but remained below pre-pandemic levels as global chip shortages and supply-chain issues continued to hurt the sector.

The automobiles and auto parts index was the worst hit this year, skidding more than 60% year-to-date. The index was up 0.2% on Friday. The London Stock Exchange will shut at 1230 GMT, but investors will keep an eye on U.S. personal consumption expenditure data for November.

Among single stocks, Hurricane Energy Plc rose 4.9% after activist investor Crystal Amber Fund sent a notice to the group to convene a general meeting proposing leadership changes.