Stock prices in London closed mostly higher on Friday following the news that US consumer inflation slowed more than expected last month.
The US annual CPI rate stood at 2.4% on-year in January, lower than 2.7% in December and below the FXStreet-cited consensus of a softer deceleration to 2.5%.
Monthly, consumer prices rose 0.2% after a 0.3% increase in December, below the consensus for another 0.3% increase.
The annual core index that strips out food and energy was up 2.5% as expected in January, slowed from 2.6%. Monthly, core goods prices were up 0.3%, also as expected, and accelerated from 0.2%.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 43.91 points, 0.4%, at 10,446.35. The FTSE 250 ended up 122.28 points, 0.5%, at 23,427.27, and the AIM all-share closed up 0.69 points, 0.1%, at 811.85.
NatWest was the lowest blue-chip, down 4.1% despite reporting better-than-expected annual results.
The Edinburgh-based lender reported £16.64 billion in total income for 2025, up 13% on-year and ahead of analyst consensus of £16.53 billion. Operating pretax profit increased 24% to £7.71 billion, also surpassing the consensus estimate of £7.49 billion.
Noting that NatWest’s results were “strong”, Shore said: “The print reinforces NatWest as a high‑teens‑return on tangible equity, capital‑generative UK franchise with growing tangible net asset value, benign credit trends, disciplined cost control and clear headroom for dividends and buybacks.”
On AIM, EPE Special Opportunities closed 9.8% higher.
The Epic Investment Partners-managed firm announced plans to undertake up to £3.0 million in share buybacks, using existing cash reserves. It said the programme may exceed 25% of the average daily trading volume, due to the low liquidity of its shares in issue.
Tern was down 10%, after launching an open offer to raise up to £384,408 through the issue of up to 96.1 million shares at 0.40 pence each, a 20% discount to the prior closing price.
Tern says the offer was not underwritten, and that shareholders are entitled to subscribe on the basis of one new share for every seven held.
In other UK news, Britain will spend £400 million developing long-range missiles this year as part of “a new deal for European security”, Defence Secretary John Healey has announced.
The funds will go toward replacing the Storm Shadow missile, including the Stratus “stealth” missile being developed with France and Italy, and the Deep Precision Strike system being built with Germany.
Mr Healey is expected to discuss both projects, as well as further industrial cooperation with European allies, at the Munich Security Conference, which began on Friday.
Defence stocks climbed as Melrose Industries was 3.7% higher, Rolls-Royce was up 3.6%, while BAE Systems climbed 2.2%.
In European equities on Friday, the Cac 40 in Paris closed down 0.4%, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.2%.
The pound was quoted at 1.3626 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Friday, slightly down from 1.3628 on Thursday. The euro stood at 1.1868 dollars, almost flat against 1.1869.
Stocks in New York were higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 index up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite up marginally.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.06%, narrowing from 4.12%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.70%, narrowing from 4.76%.
Brent oil was quoted at 67.48 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Friday, down from 68.08 late Thursday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3i, up 142.20p at 3,411.40p, Melrose, up 23.17p at 646.17p, Rolls-Royce, up 44.38p at 1,270.38p, Halma, up 134.00p at 3,876.00p, and Fresnillo, up 90.00p at 3,858.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were NatWest, down 24.40p at 570.60p, Barclays, down 13.51p at 450.09p, Entain, down 16.87p at 578.33p, Croda, down 77.00p at 3,056.00p, and HSBC, down 26.49p at 1,240.11p.
On Monday’s economic calendar, US markets are closed to mark George Washington’s Birthday. The eurozone and Japan release industrial production data.
On Monday’s UK corporate calendar, no significant events are currently scheduled.
