London stocks post weekly gains as gilt yields retreat; telecom stocks fall (updated)

SSP

09/10/2026 17:33

Updates with closing levels
Oct 9 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Friday and capped a volatile week with modest gains as a retreat in gilt yields helped sentiment, while telecom stocks fell after SpaceX's acquisition of low-band spectrum rattled the sector.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 1% to 10,552.05, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC climbed 1.1%.
Oil prices eased earlier in the session after US President Donald Trump said Washington would not attack Iran before next month's US midterm elections, amid what he described as productive talks to end a war that has disrupted global energy markets O/R
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were last flat at $104.35
British government bond yields retreated, with 10- and 30-year gilt yields > GB30YT=RR easing after hitting fresh multi-decade highs earlier this week
For the week, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 posted 0.9% and 0.1% rises, respectively, recovering from volatile trading driven by higher oil prices and renewed concerns over inflation, borrowing costs and the outlook for interest rates
Shares in Airtel Money AMCA.L fell 5.6%, below their offer price on Friday, in a muted start to trading for the African mobile money service after a heavily oversubscribed initial public offering
Telecom stocks were among the biggest decliners after SpaceX's SPCX.O deal to acquire a nationwide portfolio of low-band spectrum licences, paving the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major US telecom operator
Vodafone VOD.L, Airtel Africa AAF.L and BT Group BT.L fell between 2.4% and 6.3%, making them the FTSE 100's weakest performers
On the FTSE 250, SSP Group SSPG.L, owner of the Upper Crust chain, fell 4% after forecasting annual operating profit slightly below its previous expectations
Morgan Advanced Materials M.L> rose 9.4% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the chip-components supplier and lifted its price target, citing the potential sale of its Thermal Products unit and greater exposure to higher-margin aerospace and defence markets

 (Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
 ((Ragini.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))