FTSE 100 Edges Higher As Revised GDP Shows Stronger Q2 Growth
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks gained some ground in positive territory on Wednesday thanks to stronger-than-expected GDP data. However, the mood remained cautious due the rebound by oil prices amid supply concerns due to continued uncertainty about an end to the Middle East conflict.
The FTSE 100 was up 15.99 points or 0.15% at 10,652.70 about half an hour past noon. The index had advanced to 10,727.68 earlier.
SSE moved up over 3%. National Grid, Antofagasta, Severn Trent, United Utilities gained 2.4%-3%.
Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer, Reckitt Benckiser, JD Sports Fashion, Aberdeen Group, British Land, BAE Systems, Land Securities, Associated British Foods, ICG, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Babcock International, Diageo, Rio Tinto, Metlen Energy & Metals, Spirax Group, Compass Group and Centrica gained 1%-2%.
The Sage Group drifted lower by 2.3%. Experian and Relx lost 1% and 0.8%, respectively. Energy stocks Ithaca, BP and Shell shed 0.8%-1.2%.
Revised data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK economy expanded more than estimated in the second quarter, with GDP posting a quarterly growth of 0.5%, revised up from 0.4%. This followed an increase of 0.6% in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the services sector expanded 0.6% and construction grew 0.8%. On the other hand, the production sector shrank 0.1%. On the expenditure-side, there was a 0.3% increase in real household final consumption expenditure. Meanwhile, government spending dropped 0.5%.
Another data showed that ONS showed that the UK current account deficit, including trade in precious metals, narrowed by GBP 1.2 billion to GBP 19.9 billion, or 2.5 percent of GDP in the second quarter.
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