he FTSE 100 had another weak showing on Friday as weaker-than-expected retail data for July weighed on London’s biggest retailers.
The Office for National Statistics said retail sales volumes fell 1.2% during the month as they were impacted by unusually wet summer weather.
As a result, major high street firms such as JD Sports, Frasers and M&S all closed lower.
London’s top flight moved 0.65%, or 47.78 points, lower to finish at 7,262.43.
The main indexes across Europe were in the red on Friday as they came under pressure from worries over the Chinese economy and higher bond yields.
Germany’s Dax index was 0.65% lower for the day and the Cac 40 closed down 0.39%.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “It’s been another day of losses for European markets, with the FTSE 100 closing lower for the sixth day in a row and matching its worst losing streak since October last year, as well as revisiting its March lows.
“The Dax has also had a poor week as it looks to close in on its July lows.
“This week’s market weakness has been primarily driven by Asia markets, with the Hang Seng finishing the week down 5.9% and closing in bear market territory, as China’s Evergrande filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court overnight.”
Across the Atlantic, the US markets took their cues from weakness in Europe and Asia to drop lower on the opening bell.
Meanwhile, sterling dipped slightly against the key currencies after economists were left unimpressed by the decline in retail sales and what it could mean for spending across the UK economy.
The pound was down 0.02% to 1.273 US dollars and was 0.04% lower at 1.171 euros at market close in London.
In company news, shares in Everyman Media were flat at 60p after the upmarket cinema chain revealed lower revenues and earnings for the first half of 2023.
In the six months to the end of June, revenue fell by 5.9%, while earnings dropped from £7.5 million to £5.8 million, although the firm cheered a strong July on the back of hype around the Barbie and Oppenheimer releases.
Shares in RS Group were firmly lower on Friday after brokers at UBS cut their forecasts and downgraded the stock.
Analysts for the Swiss bank said they “now expect a bigger profit unwind” at the electronics firm due to concerns over weakening markets.
Shares fell by 25.4p to 696.6p as a result during the trading session.
The price of oil slipped again slightly to set itself up for a first weekly decline after seven consecutive weeks of gains.
A barrel of Brent crude oil fell by 0.32% to 84.09 US dollars at the time markets were closing in London.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were British American Tobacco, up 38p at 2,525p, Tesco, up 3.2p at 249.7p, WPP, up 6.8p at 744.6p, BAE Systems, up 7.6p at 963.4p, and Sage Group, up 5p at 943.4p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Airtel Africa, down 5p at 108.7p, RS Group, down 25.4p at 696.6p, Antofagasta, down 47p at 1,375.5, Prudential, down 31.2p at 947p, and JD Sports, down 3.7p at 149.7p.