Market Report

London stocks rose early Friday, fuelled by weak retail sales data that boosted rate cut expectations.

Data from the Office for National Statistics indicated that retail sales decreased by 0.3% in December, following a revised decline of 0.1% in November. Economists had anticipated a 0.4% increase.

Wall Street saw fluctuations as major technology stocks declined. On Thursday, stocks alternated between small gains and losses following economic data that showed consumer spending remains robust, allowing the Federal Reserve to proceed cautiously with interest rate reductions this year.

Asian stocks edged up, drawing support from unexpectedly strong growth in China's economy at the end of last year, although gains were limited by caution ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president next week.

Oil prices increased, marking the fourth consecutive week of gains due to the latest U.S. sanctions on Russian energy trade affecting supply, which in turn raised spot trade prices and shipping rates.

Gold remained steady near a five-week high on Friday and was on track for a third consecutive week of gains. This followed U.S. inflation data released earlier this week, which increased expectations that the Federal Reserve may reduce interest rates further this year.

In company news, Apple shares experienced a significant decline on Thursday, falling by more than 4%. This drop occurred following a report indicating that Apple has been surpassed as the leading smartphone seller in China.

According to a report from Canalys, Apple has fallen behind Chinese smartphone manufacturers Vivo and Huawei, dropping to the third position with 15% of the market share. The analysis indicated that Apple shipped 285 million phones in China, showing a recovery from two consecutive years of decline, with a year-over-year growth of 4%.