The FTSE 100 opened lower on Friday, falling 17 points or 0.18% to 9,718.66, with investors processing corporate earnings and deal updates amid global volatility. Weakness in tech stocks in the US weighed on sentiment, while some notable stocks made significant moves.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals rose 1.51% to £1,545, maintaining its progress after steady earnings guidance.
Supported by resilient underwriting performance, Hiscox increased 1.48% to £1,374, while Games Workshop Group gained 1.29% to £15,760 following news of strong sales momentum ahead of the holiday quarter.
Convatec Group increased 1.20% to £236.40, and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners gained 1.04% to £6,780.
JD Sports Fashion edged 0.98% to £84.58, continuing to benefit from strong retail demand and improved margins.
On the downside, Rightmove shares plunged 23.5% to £501, the biggest loser, after it warned that increased investment in its platform would slow operating profit growth to 3-5% in 2026.
International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) also fell sharply, losing 8.19% to £380 after reporting a third-quarter operating profit of €2.05 billion (£1.8 billion), slightly below City expectations.
Auto Trader Group declined 3.36% to £771.80, AstraZeneca slipped 0.69% to £12,746, and Rio Tinto eased 0.65% to £5,225, mirroring weakness in global industrials.
ITV surged 18% to £80 after confirming that it is in early talks with Sky, owned by Comcast, over a possible sale of its broadcast division for £1.6 billion.
The proposed deal would exclude ITV Studios, its production arm, but would include its free-to-air channels and streaming platform ITVX.
While ITV emphasized that “no agreement has been reached,” investors reacted positively to the potential value unlock, sending the stock to its highest level in months.
New data from Halifax showed UK house prices climbed 0.6% in October, the largest monthly increase since January, taking the average home value to a record £299,862.
The annual growth rate accelerated to 1.9%, with Northern Ireland leading with 8% gain, whereas London saw a decline of 0.3%.
The Asian stock markets were down in response to Wall Street's overnight losses, as both Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng lost 1%, following a 1.9% drop in the Nasdaq amid concerns over inflated AI valuations.
Nvidia fell 4%, while Microsoft and Amazon declined 2% and 3%, respectively.