The FTSE 100 opened 36.05 points higher at 10,784.21 amid a surge in gold, silver and copper prices, lifting London-listed miners, offsetting a soft UK retail sales print. Brent crude futures fell 0.30% to $93.50 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.50% to $86.40 per barrel. 

Sterling rose to $1.3647 early Friday from $1.3634 late Thursday. Against the euro, it eased to €1.1663 from €1.1676. 

Gainers & Losers 

On the upside, Antofagasta climbed 4.99% to 3,891p. JD Sports Fashion advanced 4.80% to 83.92p, while Fresnillo gained 3.82% to 3,289p. Endeavour Mining rose 2.98% to 4,630p, Anglo American added 2.75% to 4,075p, and Glencore increased 2.41% to 598.60p.

On the downside, Experian fell 2.09% to 2,904p. Smith & Nephew declined 2.00% to 1,052p, while GSK dropped 1.72% to 1,887.50p. RELX slipped 1.31% to 2,553p, AstraZeneca lost 0.86% to 11,984p, and Computacenter edged 0.60% lower to 5,015p.

Hunting Cut its EBITDA Target

Hunting shares declined over 14% as the firm trimmed its 2026 EBITDA guidance after Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) signaled it will re-run a delayed tender process. 

The company reported first-half revenue of $497.0 million, down 6% from $528.6 million a year earlier. EBITDA fell 12% to $62.1 million from $70.2 million, with the EBITDA margin narrowing to 12% from 13%. 

Adjusted profit before tax declined to $34.5 million from $43.7 million, while adjusted diluted earnings per share fell to 15.2 cents from 19.6 cents.

Retail Sales Declined

Retail sales fell in July. Sales fell 0.5% in July after increases of 0.7% in June and 1.3% in May, as earlier-than-usual discounts brought some spending forward and the hot weather triggered a rise in spending on items like air conditioning and fans, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

Across the three months to the end of July, retail sales volumes rose 1.1% compared with the previous three months.

Last month’s slide in sales was driven by a fall in non-food sales of 1.3%. Clothing retailers blamed earlier promotions and the heat for keeping shoppers away from stores, while furniture demand also weakened during the hottest weather.

Also Read: Stock Market Update: Nifty 50 Opened 52.2 points Higher, Sensex Rose 163.98 points

Global Market View

In the US, stocks fell as Treasury yields jumped despite the Treasury Department’s extraordinary debt buyback. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.32%. The S&P 500 lost 0.87% and closed at 7,641.16, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1%.

In Asia on Friday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 66,016.36, while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.04%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.05%, and South Korea’s Kospi surged 0.88%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex rose by 0.06% and 0.054%, respectively.