London open: FTSE gains after retail sales, consumer confidence
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 23 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Friday as investors mulled better-than-expected retail sales data and an upbeat reading on consumer sentiment.
At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,766.03.
Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales increased 1.2% on the month in April following a 0.1% jump in March, which was revised down from 0.4% growth. Analysts were expecting a 0.3% increase.
The ONS said food stores sales volumes grew strongly, up 3.9%, mostly recovering from falls in February and March.
Supermarkets, specialist food stores such as butchers and bakers, and alcohol and tobacco stores all saw growth, with some retailers putting this down to the good weather.
ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: "Sunny skies and warm temperatures helped boost retail sales in April with strong trading across most sectors.
"After a poor couple of months, food sales bounced back with supermarkets reporting robust sales, while it was also a positive month for butchers and bakers, alcohol and tobacco stores.
"Conversely, after a good March, clothing sales fell this month, although it was a brighter picture for department stores and household good shops whose sales grew."
Elsewhere, a survey showed that consumer confidence ticked higher in May on improved expectations for the UK economy.
The latest GfK consumer confidence barometer rose three points month-on-month to -20, although that remains below the -17 recorded in May 2024.
Driving the improvement was a five-point jump in personal finance expectations over the next 12 months, which took the sub-index into positive territory with a reading of 2.
The outlook for the economy over the coming year also strengthened, up two points at -33.
The major purchase index rose three points to -16, the highest since the end of 2024. In contrast the savings index - which is not included in the overall score - shed two points to 28.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said consumers may have "taken comfort" from the latest interest rate reduction.
In addition, the initial panic surrounding Donald Trump's sweeping global tariff regime has faded marginally, after the US president scaled back some of the more stringent duties and struck deals with both China and the UK.
That helped settle markets and ease medium-term fears about the impact of a trade war on both the global economy and inflation.
Bellamy said: "Those dangers - especially the issue of inflation - have not disappeared, but the consumer mood in the UK does appear to have improved a little."
In equity markets, AJ Bell surged to the top of the FTSE 250 as it hailed a "strong" interim performance, with pre-tax profit up 12% to £68.8m and revenue ahead 17%.
Warhammer maker Games Workshop tumbled as it said its current-year licensing revenue would not match 2024/25's record of £50m, but also that pre-tax profit for the 52 weeks to 1 June would be at least £255m, smashing estimates of £225m.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said the update was positive and that "the stock may have fallen foul of some profit-taking after a rise of 61% over the last year, which resulted in its promotion from the FTSE 250".
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,766.03 0.31%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,842.98 0.21%
techMARK (TASX) 4,785.96 0.24%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 331.80p 1.65%
easyJet (EZJ) 558.60p 1.60%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 352.20p 1.56%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 852.00p 1.55%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,012.00p 1.51%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,322.00p 1.38%
SEGRO (SGRO) 664.40p 1.28%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 283.00p 1.22%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,145.50p 1.20%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,769.50p 0.97%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 15,310.00p -3.53%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,257.00p -2.10%
Beazley (BEZ) 933.50p -1.69%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 379.90p -1.07%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,720.00p -0.80%
Diageo (DGE) 2,045.00p -0.78%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,354.00p -0.59%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,881.00p -0.59%
Prudential (PRU) 846.40p -0.52%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 891.00p -0.45%
FTSE 250 - Risers
AJ Bell (AJB) 502.00p 9.80%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 287.00p 4.74%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 128.50p 2.72%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 85.60p 2.64%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 287.00p 1.95%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 77.00p 1.92%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 62.00p 1.64%
Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 1,018.00p 1.60%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 275.60p 1.55%
Carnival (CCL) 1,514.50p 1.51%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Senior (SNR) 155.80p -4.30%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 240.50p -3.99%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,782.00p -3.57%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 512.00p -2.29%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 262.60p -2.16%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 590.00p -2.16%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 561.00p -2.01%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,784.00p -1.71%
Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 375.00p -1.70%
Rank Group (RNK) 123.00p -1.60%
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