FTSE 100 climbs on promising Chinese data, US markets under pressure

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On Friday, the FTSE 100 rose by 0.5% to close at 7,711.38, buoyed by encouraging economic data from China. However, the FTSE 250 declined by 0.58%, ending at 18,789.77. In the currency markets, sterling dropped by 0.12% against the dollar to $1.2394 and fell by 0.33% versus the euro to €1.1621.

IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph noted that unlike their European counterparts, which saw gains after the European Central Bank's decisions earlier this week, US indices ended the week under pressure due to high oil prices and rising US import prices. These factors have reignited inflationary concerns and contributed to a three-month low in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment.

US industrial production exceeded analysts' expectations last month with a 0.4% rise in output, surpassing the anticipated 0.1%. This was driven largely by a growth of 0.8% in business equipment output and a climb of 0.7% in materials output. Despite this, manufacturing production experienced a modest rise of only 0.1%, still lagging behind its performance from the previous year by 0.6%.

The overall industrial operating capacity in use saw a marginal increase, reaching 79.7%, slightly above the anticipated 79.5%. Meanwhile, US consumer sentiment remained relatively stable in early September, with the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index presenting a slight dip to 67.7 from August's 69.5.

China showed signs of stabilisation after several months of underwhelming economic metrics, as both retail sales and industrial output surpassed expectations in August. Retail sales growth accelerated to 4.6%, indicating a rebound in consumer discretionary spending particularly in cosmetics, smartphones, and jewellery. China's industrial production in August recorded a 4.5% year-on-year increase, outperforming July's 3.7% and surpassing economists' 3.9% expectation.

On London's equity markets, Burberry was one of the FTSE 100's top performers, rising 2.51% by the close. The positive data from China also boosted miners, with Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) up 1.57%, Anglo American (LON:AAL) ahead 1.31%, and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) increasing 1.02%. Games Workshop Group surged 11.16%, driven by strong quarterly results.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) received a boost of 1.29% after Barclays named the Premier Inn owner its top choice within the leisure sector. London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSEG) increased by 0.05% as JPMorgan added the group's shares to its "positive catalyst watch". Flutter Entertainment observed a rise of 2.23%, extending its gains from the previous day after HSBC raised its price target for the shares from 17,900p to 18,100p while maintaining a 'buy' recommendation.

However, Hipgnosis Songs Fund declined 7.01% following the company's announcement that it was planning to sell some song rights to manage debt and fund share buybacks. Real estate firms Derwent London and Great Portland Estates experienced downturns of 0.05% and 1.22%, respectively, despite Goldman Sachs upgrading both companies' shares.

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