UK’s FTSE 100 flat on caution ahead of long holiday weekend | Daily News Byte

Dec 23 (Reuters) – The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was flat on Friday, with investors cautious ahead of a long holiday weekend as unexpectedly strong U.S. economic data raised fears interest rates will remain high for longer.

The export-oriented FTSE 100 (.FTSE) shed 0.2%, while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 added 0.1% by 0924 GMT.

Gains of 0.2% in miners (.FTNMX551020) were overshadowed by losses of 0.3% in healthcare firms such as GSK (GSK.L).

“There are signs of less liquidity in the markets leading up to Christmas. But there are some moves in terms of the data we got out of the US yesterday,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

London stocks reversed lower on Thursday after U.S. economic activity in the third quarter showed better-than-expected growth and a still-tight labor market, prompting concerns that the Federal Reserve will 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 whether a market is trading at a bullish or bearish pace.

“It’s largely to do with the composition of the underlying assets for the index and so far for the year, energy has been the best,” Hathorn added.

The energy sector (.FTNMX601010) was down 0.2% on Friday but ended 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 hurt the sector.

The automobiles and auto parts index (.FTNMX401010) was the hardest hit this year, stalling more than 60% year-to-date. The index was up 0.2% on Friday.

The London Stock Exchange will close at 1230 GMT, but investors will keep an eye on US personal consumption expenditure data for November.

Among single stocks, Hurricane Energy Plc ( HUR.L ) rose 4.9% after activist investor Crystal Amber Fund ( CRSL.L ) sent a notice to call a general meeting proposing a change in leadership to the group.

Reporting by Johan M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Devika Shyamanath

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