© Reuters. Signage is seen outside the entrance of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain. Aug 23, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
By Sruthi Shankar and Khushi Singh
(Reuters) -Britain’s clocked in biggest percentage gain since last October, as upbeat earnings from European luxury firms boosted shares of Burberry and Diageo (LON:), while investors took comfort from data that showed UK consumer sentiment hit a two-year high.
The FTSE 100 climbed 1.4% on Friday to log its first weekly gain of the year and the biggest in more than four months. The midcap also rose 0.6%, marking its biggest weekly gain in six weeks.
British luxury retailer Burberry climbed 4.9%, after French luxury giant LVMH (EPA:) reported a 10% rise in fourth-quarter sales, reassuring investors about the sector’s resilience to economic headwinds, particularly in China.
“LVMH’s latest update flagged slowing sales growth for its product range but the company struck a confident tone, giving a lift to luxury-related stocks,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
The personal goods sub-index jumped 4.2%, its biggest percentage jump in more than a month.
The beverages sub-index, the top sectoral performer, soared 4.6%, gaining support from a 5.1% rise in Johnnie Walker whisky maker Diageo shares after French spirits maker Remy Cointreau beat third-quarter sales expectations.
The pan-European index ended 1.1% higher, hitting its highest level in two years.
Adding to the upbeat sentiment, a survey showed British consumers were their most confident since January 2022 as lower inflation helped them to feel better about their finances.
Among individual stocks, Tullow Oil (LON:) dropped 6.0% after Stifel downgraded the stock to “sell”.
Vodafone (LON:) shares advanced 3.9% after the British government approved the telecom operator’s strategic relationship agreement with Abu Dhabi-based telecoms group e&.
Shares in Superdry lost 2.6% after the fashion retailer said it did not expect market conditions to improve in the near term following a tough Christmas season, also adding that finance chief Shaun Wills would step down at the end of March.
