On Thursday, the FTSE 100 traded up by 0.37% and finished the session at 7.944.04. The FTSE 250 index was down 19 points at 19,851.65.
The stocks going ex-dividend and the gloomy earnings pushed the indexes down during the day.
The highlight of the day was the speech from the Bank of England’s Chief Economist, Huw Pill, on the positive economic data. Pill said the UK economy is witnessing “slightly stronger than expected” growth.
The British pound continued to slide against the U.S. dollar on Thursday on the UK interest rate outlook. The sterling was down by 0.45% as compared to the dollar at $1.197.
The construction and materials sector hit a new high after gaining 8.6%. On the company front, building materials group CRH PLC’s (GB:CRH) stock was up around 8% after the company announced its full-year results for 2022 with higher sales and profits. The stock was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 index.
CRH also announced its plan to abandon the London Stock Exchange and move its primary listing to the U.S. The majority of the company’s earnings come from the U.S., and it is expecting further strong growth from the region.
This came as a bump to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s aim to make London a “global financial center.”
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, commented, “London Stock Exchange is having to work overtime just to keep those already listed, let alone attract new ones.”
On the losing end, insurance company Beazley PLC (GB:BEZ) was at the bottom of the FTSE 100 after it lost 5.13% yesterday. The company reported a 48% decline in its profits in its full-year results for 2022.
On the FTSE 250, National Express Group PLC (GB:NEX) topped the charts with a gain of more than 10% in a day. The transport company reported higher revenues in its 2022 annual results and also revived its dividends.
On the other hand, Hunting PLC (GB:HTG) stock fell 8.5% despite posting a 39% growth in its full-year revenues for 2022, driven by a strong order book. Hunting provides hardware products and technology services mainly to the oil and gas industry.
