UK Equities End Week Higher Amid Weak June Business Activity
London shares edged higher on Friday, with the FTSE 100 closing 0.25% up, as data showed the UK's private sector remained in contraction in June.The S&P Global UK PMI Composite Output Index slipped to 49.3 in June 2026 from 49.7 in May 2026, coming in slightly below the flash estimate of 49.4. The Services PMI fell to 48.8 from 49.3, marking its weakest reading since the start of 2023."Strong cost pressures, lacklustre demand and business uncertainties arising from the Middle East conflict were the most prominent themes highlighted by service sector firms in June. This led to fragile investment sentiment, elevated risk aversion among clients and squeezed consumer budgets, which in turn contributed to the fastest reduction in new work for just over three-and-a-half years," S&P Global Market Intelligence economics director Tim Moore said.Meanwhile, Bank of England data showed that the UK government's gross reserve assets increased to $225.75 billion in June from $225.61 billion in May.On the corporate front, HSBC (HSBA.L) is said to be in preliminary discussions with potential investors for a significant risk transfer linked to a portfolio of loans in the Asia Pacific, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.Bloomberg added, citing sources, that Standard Chartered (STAN.L) is separately mulling a similar transaction associated with $2 billion of global corporate loans under its Chakra SRT program. At closing, HSBC gained 0.40%, while StanChart ended the week 1.53% higher.Mid-cap constituent Johnson Matthey (JMAT.L) gained 4.95% after confirming that the State Administration for Market Regulation in China cleared the sale of its Catalyst Technologies unit to Honeywell International. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of August.
