London's FTSE 100 closed 0.27% in the green on Thursday as Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon continued, hours after the US brokered a ceasefire between the two countries.
Israel will continue to attack Lebanon for the time being, Reuters reported, citing Defense Minister Israel Katz. The ceasefire is conditional on a suspension of attacks from Hezbollah, which has rejected the plan, according to the news outlet.
On the economic front, Britain's construction sector activity contracted at its fastest pace in six years in May amid weaker orders and heightened economic uncertainty, S&P Global said. The UK Construction PMI fell to 38.2 from 39.7 in April, below the 40.2 consensus estimate, extending the sector's contraction streak to 17 months.
"Concerns about a prolonged decline in construction order books, alongside unfavourable near-term UK economic prospects, weighed on business optimism in May. This index has fallen sharply since the start of 2026, and confidence levels are now almost as low as those seen ahead of last autumn's Budget," S&P Global Market Intelligence Economics Director Tim Moore said.
On the upside, the UK's new car registrations climbed 7.1% year over year to 160,662 units in May, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. SMMT said the latest reading reflects the best recorded for the month since 2019 due to the resurgence of private buyers, though it remains 12.6% behind pre-pandemic levels.
In corporate news, Rio Tinto Group (RIO.L) dropped 2.79% on the blue-chip index after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to underperform.
"Rio Tinto has benefitted from a strong flight to quality YTD (+8% since the conflict began) as fears mount around industry costs/availability of key inputs," analysts wrote. "However, with exception of aluminium (28% of EBITDA), it is difficult to see further upside in the commodity basket given the warning signs in the Chinese economy. Furthermore, we would not be surprised to see further expensive corporate action as they seek to bolster copper exposure."
Meanwhile, Prudential plc (PRU.L), Standard Chartered (STAN.L) and HSBC (HSBA.L) lost 7.60%, 2.81% and 1.80%, respectively, after the South China Morning Post reported that mainland Chinese residents were facing tighter restrictions on opening offshore accounts at major Hong Kong banks, weighing on financial institutions with exposure to China.