UK’s FTSE 100 climbs on boost in consumer discretionary | Daily News Byte

Dec 21 (Reuters) – UK’s FTSE 100 extended gains for a third straight session on Wednesday ahead of the festive weekend, led by JD Sports, consumer discretionary stocks lifted.

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) and mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) each added 0.2%.

Sportswear firm JD Sports rose 5.8% to top the FTSE 100 on Tuesday after its US peer Nike ( NKE.N ) posted better-than-expected results.

The weaker pound also supported the export-oriented index in which companies benefit from dollar earnings.

Energy stocks (.FTNMX601010) added to the gains, rising 0.5% while the pound was down 0.2% by 8:30 GMT.

In other stocks, Bunzl Plc ( BNZL.L ) said it expects 2023 revenue to be slightly higher, benefiting from higher demand for its cheaper products and acquisitions this year. But supply distributors fell 0.7%.

Meanwhile, public debt, excluding state-controlled banks, rose to a record 22 billion pounds ($26.73 billion) in November from 14.2 billion pounds in the previous month, reflecting higher costs for energy subsidies.

($1 = 0.8229 pounds)

Reporting by Johan M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya N Thoppil

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