Investing.com – U.K. equities were lower at the close on Friday, as losses in the Automobiles & Parts, Banking and Life Insurance/Assurance sectors propelled shares lower.
At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 lost 1.72% to hit a new 1-month low.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 were Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES), which rose 1.35% or 9.60 points to trade at 722.20 at the close. BT Group PLC (LON:BT) added 0.71% or 1.05 points to end at 148.35 and National Grid PLC (LON:NG) was up 0.62% or 6.50 points to 1,050.00 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO), which lost 6.53% or 31.50 points to trade at 451.10 in late trade. Intermediate Capital Group PLC (LON:ICP) declined 6.45% or 90.00 points to end at 1,306.50 and Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LON:HRGV) shed 5.63% or 47.00 points to 788.20.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1572 to 328 and 359 ended unchanged on the London Stock Exchange.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.72% or 31.55 to $1,866.15 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 1.31% or 0.99 to hit $76.71 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 1.42% or 1.16 to trade at $82.75 a barrel.
GBP/USD was up 1.05% to 1.21, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.32% to 0.88.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.78% at 104.48.