Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1.66% at 7,473.03 and the FTSE 250 was up by 1.70% at 19,513.8, as stocks rallied to two-week highs driven by soaring banking and mining stocks.
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Stocks across Europe have rallied in the wake of rapid Ukrainian advances in the Kharkiv province, and the pound has also risen, perhaps driven by optimism that the Ukrainian success could lead to a way out of the energy crisis.
Britain’s GDP grew by just 0.2% in July, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and grew annually by 2.3%.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, says, “The UK economy grew slightly less than expected in July, with growth supported by consumer-facing services on the back of the Women’s EUROs and the Commonwealth Games.
“With the additional bank holiday this month, the economy could be facing a small technical recession, albeit one that won’t be nearly as bad as was expected prior to the cap on energy bills. There’s a lot more data to come this week which should show consumer spending slipping as inflation remains above 10% and the labour market still strong.”
Yesterday’s gainers included Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo Plc (GB:FXPO) which leapt up 12.4% on news of Ukraine winning back significant amounts of territory in a counter-offensive, and retail stocks such as Marks and Spencer (GB:MKS) also rose 6.7% amid hopes that Britain might avoid a prolonged and deep recession.
British business news today
UK trade deficit widens as exports to EU hit record high (FT)
Our crumbling housing stock is helping Vladimir Putin blackmail Britain (Telegraph)
Rupert Soames, the saviour of Serco, to stand down (Times)
