LONDON: The UK’s FTSE 100 closed higher on Thursday as energy stocks gained, while investors parsed more economic data to gauge the state of the economy a day after Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt announced an interim budget.
The commodities-heavy FTSE 100 gained 0.2%, as heavyweight energy stocks added 1.3% after falling over 2% in the previous session.
The midcap index on the other hand, closed flat.
Travel and leisure and personal goods were among the worst performing of the major FTSE 350 sectors.
Trading volumes were thin in the absence of US participants, as markets in the United States were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Meanwhile, a preliminary survey showed British companies reported a marginal return to growth in November after three months of contraction but the downturn in orders continued in the face of higher interest rates and weak demand.
“To be fair, the economic news has been a little better of late: the improved PMIs add to the rise in payrolls and…