By Shristi Achar A and Johann M Cherian
(Reuters) -The UK’s FTSE 100 closed modestly up on Thursday, clocking gains for the fifth straight day in a winning streak helped by healthcare and mining stocks, while data showed the domestic economy stagnated in February.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the economy failed to grow as expected in February but a bounce in January was stronger than previously thought. Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill called the data “somewhat disappointing”.
Earlier in the week, the International Monetary Fund said it now expects Britain’s economy to suffer a smaller-than-expected shrinkage this year.
“I agree in the short term there have been tailwinds,” said Silvia Dall’Angelo, senior economist at Federated Hermes.
“But in the bigger picture, the outlook remains quite challenging. Though the UK may escape a recession this year, growth will remain sluggish.”
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 ended 0.2% up, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.4% as of 1553 GMT.
The healthcare sector rose 0.7%, while precious metals miners climbed 2%, tracking strong gold prices. [GOL/]
Adding to gains was HSBC’s upgrade on UK homebuilders including Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Development.
Bucking the trend, Imperial Brands fell 1.1% and hit a six-month low after the tobacco group said its revenue for the first half of the year would be “slightly below” figures from a year earlier.
The food and beverage sector, which houses Imperial Brands stock, was down 0.5%.
Even as concerns over a potential U.S. recession have weighed on investor sentiment, defensive stocks such as pharmaceuticals as well as commodity-linked stocks have kept FTSE 100 afloat recently.
Among other movers, Tesco added 0.6% after Britain’s biggest retailer reported its full-year adjusted operating profit in line with its guidance.
Shares of Oxford Instruments rose 5.7% after the nanotechnology tools maker raised its profit outlook.
Shares of Lloyds Group, Unite Group and Persimmon among others were down between 2.8%-3.4% as the stocks traded ex-dividend.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami, Janane Venkatraman and Mark Heinrich)
