(Reuters) – UK shares rose on Friday after a potential Russia-U.S. meeting spurred hopes of a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Ukraine and strong retail sales data for January offered some respite after December’s dismal performance.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.3% at 0805 GMT but was still headed for its worst week in nearly three months after 30-year-high inflation numbers earlier in the week and tensions in Ukraine hit sentiment.
British retail sales grew faster than expected in January, recovering about half the losses suffered in December when a wave of Omicron cases caused many shoppers to stay at home, the Office for National Statistics said.
Taxpayer-backed bank NatWest Group fell 1.2% after warning that rising prices would make it harder to cut overheads, lowering its annual cost-cutting target for the next two years.
Warehousing specialist Segro gained 6.7% after saying it expects highest rental growth in its urban markets, largely on strong demand from e-commerce tenants.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
