-- London's FTSE 100 closed 1.62% higher on Thursday after the Bank of England kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.75%, in line with expectations.
"We think this is a reasonable place given the situation of the economy and the unpredictability of events in the Middle East. We'll continue to monitor the situation and its impact on the UK economy very closely. Whatever happens, our job is to make sure that inflation gets back to the 2% target after the initial impact of the war on energy prices has passed," BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said.
In other economic news, Britain's total vehicle manufacturing dropped 8.2% year over year to 72,511 units in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Car production declined 0.8% to 69,755 units, while commercial vehicle output plunged 68.3% to 2,756 units.
"Car production stabilising in March is welcome news for both assembly and the wider supply chain," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said. "Government's recent intervention to bring down electricity costs will provide a major and long-called for boost, but the scheme's benefits must be delivered urgently as the geopolitical situation offers little optimism."
On the corporate side, United Utilities Group (UU.L), up 11.05%, led the blue-chip index after submitting an incremental investment program of 1.4 billion pounds sterling for the UK's North West region to the Water Services Regulation Authority, or Ofwat. To fund the equity portion of the broader 2.5 billion-pound investment program, the utility launched an equity placing of 800 million pounds.
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.L) surged 7.59% after confirming its underlying operating profit guidance of 4 billion pounds sterling to 4.2 billion pounds for 2026. "We remain strongly positioned to deliver our mid-term targets, with substantial growth beyond the mid-term from both our existing and new businesses," Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic said.
By contrast, Weir Group (WEIR.L), down 3.98%, was one of the index's worst performers after announcing the departure of Chief Executive Officer Jon Stanton, effective Aug. 1. The engineering group appointed Andrew Neilson, president of the minerals division, as CEO-designate.