Healthcare, consumer staples push FTSE 100 up, worries of recession fade

UK's FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday as healthcare and consumer staples stocks gained, while investors were relieved that the domestic economy narrowly avoided a recession late last year. Data by the Office for National Statistics showed the UK's economic output grew 0.1% in the October to December period, amid expectations that the economy would not show any growth.

UK's FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday as healthcare and consumer staples stocks gained, while investors were relieved that the domestic economy narrowly avoided a recession late last year.

Data by the Office for National Statistics showed the UK's economic output grew 0.1% in the October to December period, amid expectations that the economy would not show any growth. The FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, as of 0858 GMT.

"The fact that you scarcely avoided a recession for the time being is the key positive from the data. Will it be a better year ahead? That's the key question markets are asking themselves now," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group. Top boosters were consumer staples such as Unilever Plc and Diageo Plc, and healthcare names like AstraZeneca Plc and GSK Plc. The pound fell 0.2%.

Both the FTSE indexes are set for gains this quarter. The blue-chip index is on course to close at its highest quarterly levels since mid-2018. The FTSE 250 was up 0.2%. For the monthly session, the blue-chip index was down 3% and the mid-cap index shed 5%, logging their worst monthly sessions since September 2022.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would refer UnitedHealth Group's 1.24 billion pound ($1.54 billion) acquisition of EMIS Group Plc for a Phase 2 investigation, sending the healthcare technology firm down 21.6%. Ocado Group Plc advanced 2.0% on winning a High Court legal action brought by Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore after the judge dismissed its patent infringement claims.

The FTSE 250 index dropped 0.1% weighed down by a 38.0% loss in NCC Group as the cyber security firm revised down the range of annual group adjusted operating profit forecast. Traders will now focus on U.S. personal consumption expenditure data due at 12:30 pm GMT for clues about the Federal Reserve's monetary policy trajectory.

 

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