FTSE 100 Little Changed After GDP Data; Volex Shares Slump 13%
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks were little changed on Friday and the pound hovered near a four-month low after data showed Britain's economy contracted unexpectedly in September and growth slowed to a crawl over the third quarter.
In a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the U.K. economy grew only marginally in the third quarter on weak services output, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed.
GDP grew 0.1 percent sequentially, following growth of 0.5 percent in the second quarter. That was also weaker than the forecast of 0.2 percent.
In September, GDP edged down 0.1 percent, in contrast to the 0.2 percent expansion in August.
Following the release of GDP data, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said, "Improving economic growth is at the heart of everything I am seeking to achieve, which is why I am not satisfied with these numbers."
The benchmark FTSE 100 was marginally lower at 8,065 after adding half a percent the previous day.
Rio Tinto shares were up 0.6 percent after the miner committed $16 million to the Makira Natural Park REDD+1 Project in northern Madagascar.
Energy giants BP and Shell both rose about 1 percent after they joined forces with Equinor and TotalEnergies to invest in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (UN SDG7).
Manufacturing specialist Volex slumped nearly 13 percent after revealing it has made offers for TT Electronics. Shares of the latter soared more than 35 percent.
Land Securities rallied 2.2 percent after the landlord reported robust half-year results for 2024.
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