The UK’s main stock indexes rose on Friday, aided by positive sentiment on Wall Street following upbeat earnings from technology majors, while most airline shares advanced after Wizz Air reported a jump in January traffic.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 climbed 0.3% by 0821 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 added nearly 1%.
Wizz Air rose 5.6% to become the top gainer in the FTSE 250 after the carrier reported a 14.2% increase in passenger traffic in January. Shares in EasyJet added 2% and British Airways-owner IAG climbed 1.9%.
Friday’s gains came after U.S. tech giants Meta Platforms and Amazon.com issued better-than-expected results, putting Wall Street on course for a strong open.
Overall, it has been a mixed week for UK equities as investors trimmed bets on the extent of interest rate cuts from the Bank of England after the central bank on Thursday reiterated that policy would need to stay “restrictive for sufficiently long.
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