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London Shares End Week on High Note; Diageo Gains

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British equities closed higher on Friday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.39%, as investors weighed stable UK housing data, while strength in mining shares and optimism following Diageo's capital markets day lifted the blue-chip index.

Precious metals miners led the advance, with Fresnillo (FRES.L) rising 5.30% and Endeavour Mining (EDV.L) gaining 4.06%, making them the top performers on the index.

Meanwhile, British alcoholic beverage company Diageo (DGE.L) gained 3.23% following its capital markets day on Thursday, during which it provided updates on its restructuring, operating framework, and financial targets.

"In our view, the financial targets are ambitious but achievable, and the plan is to turn around the North American business while growth is supported by the rest of the world. There are big plans for RTDs (ready to drink beverages) and key mainstream brands in the US to unlock growth, with significant reinvestment primarily in innovation and competitiveness. Investment in pricing will remain very selective, and management emphasised on several occasions that no margin or profit rebase is required," Berenberg said in a flash note.

Meanwhile, JD Sports Fashion (JD.L) appointed former Ahold Delhaize Chair Peter Agnefjäll as its new permanent chair, succeeding interim Chair Darren Shapland from Sept. 1. The sports, fashion and outdoor brands retailer closed 2.28% in the green.

In economic news, average house prices in the UK were unchanged in July, compared with a 0.2% uptick in June, according to data published by Lloyds. Analysts expected a 0.2% rise for the month.

"More broadly, average house prices have remained relatively stable for almost two years, moving within a narrow range over that period and sitting just +0.5% higher than they were in November 2024," said Lloyds Head of Mortgages Amanda Bryden. "Looking ahead, we expect market activity and house prices to remain relatively stable over the remainder of the year."

Looking ahead to next week, investors will turn their attention to a batch of UK economic data, including provisional second-quarter GDP figures and June industrial production.

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Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$MSI$SPCX
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Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Chipmakers Help Lift Technology While Crude Oil Jumps With Treasury Yields

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Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$ARM$SNDK
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Exchange-Traded Funds Decline as US Equities Fall After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV edged lower. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) eased 0.4%.US equity indexes fell, while both government bond yields and crude oil rose after midday Thursday.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each added about 1.3%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) added 0.1%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) also increased.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) rose 2.7%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) gained 0.9%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) shed 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) declined 1.1%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), advanced 1.1%.CommoditiesCrude oil rose 3.5%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 3.5%. Natural gas fell 1.5%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) lost 0.6%.Gold on Comex eased 0.3%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) fell 0.3%. Silver was down 1.4%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) dropped 1.3%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was down 0.5%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) slipped 0.3%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) fell 0.8%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was down 0.6%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) fell 0.5%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) dropped 1.5%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) declined 0.5%, iShares US Healthcare (IYH) fell 0.3%, and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) shed 0.4%. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 0.1%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell 0.3%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also lower.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) dipped 0.2%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) fell 0.3%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was down 0.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) fell fractionally.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH