U.K. stocks were moving lower on Thursday as confirmed cases of Covid-19 continued to rise globally and data showed the U.K. economy grew by a slower than expected pace in September from August, even before the latest restrictions on businesses.
The benchmark FTSE 100 fell 33 points, or half a percent, to 6,349 after rallying 1.4 percent in the previous session.
Financial services company Legal & General lost 3 percent after outlining five-year targets.
Retailer WH Smith rose half a percent after announcing it would close more of its stores.
Private investor 3i Group rallied 2.2 percent after its profit rose strongly in the first half of fiscal 2021.
Luxury brand Burberry Group jumped nearly 3 percent. The company said its sales returned to growth in October.
On the data front, the U.K. economy moved out of recession at a record pace in the third quarter following the continued easing of lockdown restrictions, the Office for National Statistics reported.
Gross domestic product grew 15.5 percent sequentially in the third quarter, which was the biggest expansion seen since records began in 1955.
Economists had forecast an expansion of 15.8 percent after decreasing 19.8 percent in the second quarter and 2.5 percent in the first quarter.
Nonetheless, the level of GDP was 9.7 percent below where it was at the end of 2019.
GDP expanded by 6.3 percent in July, slowing to 2.2 percent in August and 1.1 percent in September.
On a yearly basis, the economy shrank 9.6 percent in the third quarter versus an expected fall of 9.4 percent.
Separately, survey results from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that the U.K. residential market activity strengthened in October as guidelines permit the market to stay open during the second lockdown.
The house price balance advanced unexpectedly to 68 percent from 62 percent in the previous month. The expected balance was 55 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
