(Reuters) – The UK’s FTSE 100 inched up on Friday as investors continued to cheer the dovish tilt in the Bank of England’s monetary policy, while insurer Phoenix Group led gains after its annual results.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.3% by 0819 GMT. The index was set for its second consecutive week of gains, powered by a near 2% gain on Thursday after the BoE said that the economy is moving in the direction for interest rate cuts.
Meanwhile, the pound fell to its to its lowest so far this month after data showed UK consumer spending stagnated in February and BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said rate cuts “were in play” this year, boosting the FTSE 100.
Personal goods and food and beverages were among top gainers, up 0.7% and 0.6% respectively.
Phoenix Group jumped 7.7% and led gains on the FTSE 100 after the insurer said it aimed to generate operating cash of 1.4 billion pounds ($1.77 billion) and pay down 500 million pounds in debt by 2026.
Meanwhile, the mid-cap FTSE 250 index was flat at 19,739.01 points, as gains were limited by a 8.9% fall in Darktrace after a technology growth fund advised by U.S. private equity firm KKR fully exited its investment in the cybersecurity firm.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra and Shristi Achar A; Editing by Varun H K)
