he FTSE 100 made gains for the third day in a row amid the continued slump in the pound.
London’s multinationals benefited from the weaker pound, which was impacted by analysts reducing their bets over how high interest rates will peak, with many now predicting the Bank of England’s recent cycle of hikes will end after next month’s meeting.
Equities, real estate and consumer goods firms were broadly stronger as a result.
London’s top flight moved 0.18%, or 13.1 points, higher to finish at 7,333.63.
The pound was down 0.66% to 1.263 US dollars and 0.33% lower at 1.166 euros at market close in London.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, said: “The pound is on the decline again, having fallen over the last couple of days on the back of some worrying economic figures from the UK.
“Whether we’re talking about a blip in the data or cracks finally appearing in the economy after a very aggressive tightening cycle from the Bank of England, traders are paring back expectations for interest rates once more.
“That weakness in the pound may be helping the FTSE to outperform, with it being one of the only European indices still in the green after early gains – seemingly driven by knockout earnings from Nvidia – fizzled out over the course of the day.”
Across the Channel, the main markets saw a weaker showing amid renewed caution over rising bond yields for most of Europe.
Germany’s Dax index was 0.68% lower for the day and the Cac 40 closed down 0.36%.
Stateside, Wednesday night’s very strong showing from chip-maker Nvidia pushed the US markets, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, sharply higher.
In company news, Harbour Energy shares slipped after the North Sea oil and gas producer reported a fall in profit and said it will extract slightly less oil and gas than expected this year.
Harbour revealed its pre-tax profit fell from 1.5 billion dollars (£1.2 billion) to 429 million dollars (£337 million) for the six months to June.
As a result, it saw shares close 10.8p lower at 230.9p on Thursday.
Recruiter Hays’ shares remained flat despite falling annual profits and warnings that it will have to cut its consultant workforce further amid a weakening global jobs market.
The company also said Dirk Hahn, managing director of Hays Germany and Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa, will take over from longstanding chief executive Alistair Cox next month. Shares finished at 103.3p.
Property services business Kinovo climbed in value after it told shareholders it received a potential takeover move by Rx3 Holdings.
It saw shares increase by 2.5p to 51p by the end of trading as a result.
Meanwhile, the price of a barrel of Brent crude fell by 0.23% to 83.02 US dollars as markets were closing in London.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 were JD Sports, up 5.4p at 138.55p, Croda International, up 94p at 5,396p, Ocado, up 12.8p at 750.4p, Fresnillo, up 7.4p at 560.4p, and Convatec, up 2.6p at 228.6p.
The biggest fallers in the index were Aviva, down 9.8p at 370.8p, Legal & General, down 5.6p at 214.4p, Mondi, down 23p at 1,257p, St James’s Place, down 15.4p at 857.6p, and Whitbread, down 57p at 3,375p.