UK's FTSE 100 Closes Lower; NatWest, AstraZeneca Shares Down
London's FTSE 100 concluded the trading week on a downbeat note, closing 0.14% lower on Friday amid a busy day of corporate updates, economic data prints, and private sector data releases.The UK's manufacturing sector remained in the growth territory in April, with the final S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI reaching a 47-month high of 53.7, against the previous month's 51 and the flash estimate of 53.6. The latest reading, which sits above the neutral 50 threshold for the sixth straight month, is supported by higher output and improved new order intakes."The upturn comes with several of catches, however. Restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz are causing substantial disruptions to input deliveries, with supplier lead times lengthening to the greatest extent in almost four years," said S&P Global Market Intelligence Director Rob Dobson. "It should also be noted that the gain in production is partly the result of clients bringing forward purchases to mitigate expected price uplifts and supply disruptions. As this process unwinds later in the year, alongside declining business optimism, growth in the sector could cool while inflationary pressures remain on high heat."On the housing market front, annual house price growth in the UK climbed to 3% in April from 2.2% in March, according to Nationwide Building Society data, beating the consensus estimate of a 2.2% rise. On a monthly basis, seasonally adjusted house prices were 0.4% higher, marking four consecutive months of growth and exceeding the expected 0.3% decline.In corporate news, NatWest Group's (NWG.L) first-quarter attributable net profit jumped to 1.43 billion pounds sterling from 1.25 billion pounds. The banking group's total impairment provisions stood at 3.74 billion pounds as of March 31, up from the year-ago 3.59 billion pounds, amid increased economic uncertainty due to the Middle East conflict. The group was the biggest loser on the index, shedding 3.35% at closing.AstraZeneca (AZN.L) also saw its shares fall 3.13% after the US Food and Drug Administration's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted against approving the benefit risk profile of the drugmaker's investigational drug camizestrant combined with a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor as a first-line treatment for patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.The London Stock Exchange will be closed on May 4 for the Early May Bank Holiday, with trading to resume the next day.