The FTSE 100 finished the day 50 points lower at 7,879.9, mainly due to the losses in the banking and mining sectors. The FTSE 250 also ended in the red, down 0.8% at 19,692.9.
Overall, broad-level weakness, ex-dividends, and a strong pound pulled the market down.
The pound recovered against the dollar on Thursday after hitting low points earlier in the week. GBP/USD gained 0.70% and went above 1.1905.
On a broader level, a new program for the UK’s financial market reforms will be launched to broaden the participation of the companies and improve the fundraising process.
The financial services minister, Andrew Griffith, said in his speech that “Britain’s revamped financial market rules will largely be aligned with U.S. and European Union regulations to minimize disruption to global companies.”
Among the stocks, the insurance sector ended in the green with Aviva PLC (GB:AV) gaining 2.7%.
On the FTSE 250 index, Volution Group PLC’s (GB:FAN) stock topped the list and gained 15% in a day. The manufacturing company announced its first-half results for the fiscal year 2023 with an 8.5% growth in revenues.
On the bottom of the list, Hammerson PLC (GB:HMSO) lost 10.6% after the property company reported a fall in revenue.
Miner Rio Tinto (GB:RIO) lost 4.45% yesterday on the overall drag in the mining sector.
Stocks in Focus
Here are a few stocks from the UK market that are in the news and have been trending.
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (GB:RR)
UK-based aerospace and defense company Rolls-Royce Holdings’ stock has gained a huge 95% in the last six months.
RR stock has a Moderate Buy rating on TipRanks based on a total of 11 recommendations. Recently, analyst Ian Douglas from UBS upgraded his rating to Buy on the stock and increased his target price to 200p. He believes the shares are “abnormally cheap.”
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (GB:LLOY)
The British banking giant Lloyds Banking’s stock has a Moderate Buy rating, based on seven Buy and three Hold recommendations.
LLOY stock has an average target price of 69.43p, which implies an upside of 35.06%.
Glencore PLC (GB:GLEN)
Glencore’s stock was down 2.79% yesterday as more interest rate hikes from the US worried investors in the mining sector.
According to TipRanks, GLEN stock has a Strong Buy rating with a total of 11 recommendations, out of which 10 are Buy. The average target price of 633.34p has an upside of 33.7% to the current price.
Centamin PLC (GB:CEY)
Gold miner, Centamin’s stock has been trading down by 13.4% YTD. Analysts are bullish on the stock, which has a Strong Buy rating on TipRanks.
CEY stock has a target price of 150.37p which has a big upside of more than 50% from the current price.
