Market Report

A gauge of global stocks rose for the first time in four sessions on Friday as equities steadied after a sharp selloff and U.S. economic data showed an improving inflation landscape, sending Treasury yields lower. The data likely paves the way for the Fed to begin cutting rates in September, as the market widely expects.

UK stocks rallied sharply, boosted by better than expected profits from Nat West and encouraging inflation data in the US. This has raised expectations of an interest rate cut in both the US and UK in either August or September.

The dollar eased fractionally along with Treasury yields after the release of U.S. price data that showed little worrisome inflation that would cause the Federal Reserve to rethink moving to a less restrictive monetary policy in the coming months.

Gold prices regained some ground on Friday after falling sharply in the previous session, with investors encouraged by positive US inflation data.

U.S. crude on Friday was on pace for a third weekly decline as worries about demand in China outweigh strong economic US growth.

In market news:

NatWest surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it lifted its full-year guidance for total income to around £14bn from between £13bn and £13.5bn previously. The bank also said that return on tangible equity was set be above 14%, up from previous guidance of 12%.

Babcock International gained after it posted a jump in full-year profit as it continued to be boosted by a "sustained uplift" in global defence budgets, with a strong performance in Nuclear, Land and Aviation.