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On Friday, the UK stock market didn’t see much action overall; it dipped just a tiny bit by the end of the day. While that may not sound like a big deal, certain areas like telecom companies, household products, and car-related businesses saw their stock prices fall, which dragged the whole market down a little.
The main stock index, which tracks the performance of the 100 biggest companies in the UK, dropped by just 0.02%. That’s a very small slip, but it still means more companies lost value than gained.
Now, not everything went downhill. A few big names actually had a good day. Vodafone, the phone and internet company, saw its stock rise by 3%, reaching its highest level in a year. Fresnillo, which mines precious metals like silver and gold, also went up more than 2%. And Coca-Cola HBC, the company that bottles and sells Coca-Cola in many countries, hit a record high with a 1.7% jump in its stock.
On the flip side, some companies took a noticeable hit. Vistry Group, which builds homes, lost almost 3% of its stock value. Packaging giant Smurfit WestRock and house builder Barratt Redrow also saw their shares drop around 2.5% each.
Out of all the companies trading on the London Stock Exchange, more than 1,000 saw their shares fall, while only around 550 gained, and about 630 didn’t change at all.
In the commodities world, gold prices stayed mostly flat, just barely going up. Oil prices, however, fell by about 1%, which means it might get a little cheaper to fill up your car tank soon.
As for currencies, the British pound stayed steady against the US dollar and the euro; nothing major happened there. Meanwhile, the US dollar itself dipped slightly when compared to other major currencies.
So overall, while Friday wasn’t dramatic, the UK market saw a quiet slip, with a few bright spots like Vodafone and Coca-Cola shining through the otherwise calm day.