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U.K. stocks rose on Friday, with miners leading the surge on hopes of a fast economic recovery. Takeover news and Vodafone’s strong earnings also offered some support. <\/p>\n
The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 47 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,015 after declining 0.4 percent in the previous session.<\/p>\n
Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore rose between 1.5 percent and 1.9 percent. <\/p>\n
Vodafone gained nearly 2 percent after the telecom major reported higher revenues in its first quarter.<\/p>\n
Security firm Ultra Electronics Holdings soared as much as 33 percent after receiving a takeover bid from aerospace manufacturer Cobham.<\/p>\n
In economic releases, U.K. consumer sentiment strengthened more-than-expected in July to reach ahead of its March 2020 pre-lockdown level, survey data from the market research group GfK showed.<\/p>\n
The consumer sentiment index rose to -7 in July from -9 in the previous month. The expected reading was -8.<\/p>\n
U.K. retail sales recovered in June as the start of the Euro 2020 football championship boosted food store sales, separate data from the Office for National Statistics revealed. <\/p>\n
Retail sales grew 0.5 percent month-on-month in June, reversing a 1.3 percent fall in May. Sales were forecast to grow 0.4 percent.<\/p>\n
The IHS Markit\/CIPS flash composite PMI dropped to 57.7 in July from 62.2 in June, its lowest since March and a sharper fall than most economists had expected. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n