UK markets opened in mixed fashion on Friday, with the FTSE 100 slipping 0.12 per cent to 10,390.07 while the FTSE 250 posted a gain of 1.28 per cent.
European sentiment was broadly more positive, with the CAC 40 rising 0.48 per cent and the DAX adding 0.06 per cent as hopes for a US-Iran agreement helped lift risk appetite across the region.
US markets were weaker in overnight trading, with the Nasdaq falling 0.88 per cent to 29,263.6 and the S&P 500 declining 0.23 per cent to 7,373.9.
Investors were balancing softer UK economic data against improving geopolitical sentiment, a dynamic that kept domestic equities under modest pressure at the open.
Flutter Entertainment (LSE:FLTR) confirmed plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange while retaining its primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
The move underlines Flutter’s increasing focus on the US market and delivers another blow to London’s ambitions to hold on to major listed companies.
Barclays (LSE:BARC) agreed to acquire children’s debit card and money management app GoHenry from Acorns, in a deal designed to strengthen the bank’s youth banking proposition.
The acquisition is expected to expand Barclays’ reach among affluent families and bolster its digital offering for younger customers.
Commodity markets reflected easing geopolitical concerns, with Brent crude falling 0.89 per cent to 87.735, gold declining 0.85 per cent to 4,175.23, and copper edging 0.36 per cent lower.
Natural gas bucked the trend, rising 0.03 per cent to 3.072, while sterling strengthened against the euro and the US dollar but weakened against the yen, Swiss franc and Australian dollar.
Bitcoin traded lower against the pound, falling 0.82 per cent to £47,006.7 as broader risk assets remained mixed across global markets.
The US dollar fell 0.14 per cent against sterling to $1.3394, while the euro slipped 0.04 per cent to €1.1581 as currency markets tracked shifting risk sentiment through the morning session.