The FTSE 100 finished the week higher on Friday, helped by data showing faster UK private sector growth in August and a surge in the gold price that supported mining stocks.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 68.40 points, 0.6%, at 10,816.56. The FTSE 250 ended up 210.16 points, 0.9%, at 24,718.82, and the AIM All-Share closed up 7.87 points, 1.0%, at 811.96.
For the week, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6%, the FTSE 250 was down 0.6%, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.1%.
In the UK, figures showed the private sector grew at a slightly faster pace in August, as the services economy shone.
The S&P Global flash composite purchasing managers' index rose to 52.5 points in August, a four-month high, from July's final tally of 52.2, beating FXStreet cited consensus of 51.6 points. The composite PMI is calculated using the service and manufacturing sector data.
The services PMI rose to 52.8 according to the August flash, a six-month high, from 52.1 in July. The manufacturing PMI, however, eased to a five-month low of 51.5 from 51.9.
JPMorgan analyst Allan Monks said the report "sends another positive message on growth" and "points to modest upside risks to our (third quarter) growth forecast."
However, other data was not quite as positive, with retail sales weaker than expected last month, and public sector borrowing higher than forecast.
The Office for National Statistics said UK retail sales volumes increased 1.6% on-year in July, slowing from a 3.8% improvement in June. The latest reading was shy of the FXStreet cited consensus, which had forecast a 2.2% increase. On-month, retail sales fell 0.5% in July, in line with expectations, after a 0.7% rise in June from May. June's reading was downwardly revised from a 1.0% rise.
Separate ONS figures showed government borrowing rose in July, "as spending growth outpaced receipts despite strong self-assessed income tax revenue". Public sector net borrowing totalled £1.8 billion last month, rising from £1.07 billion a year prior. It faded from £12.78 billion in June. Borrowing in July is typically lower than other months due to the timing of additional receipts from self-assessed income tax. Nonetheless, the latest reading was above the FXStreet cited forecast which had predicted an on-year fall in borrowing to about £300 million.
The pound traded at 1.3625 US dollars on Friday afternoon, down from 1.3634 dollars at the equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling eased to 1.1672 euros from 1.1676 euros.
On Wall Street, stocks opened higher after a report showed US business activity performed better than anticipated in August, boosted by the service sector. The headline S&P Global flash US composite purchasing managers' output index improved to 56.0 points in August, a 52-month high, from 54.5 points in July.
S&P Global noted: "Jobs were added at the fastest rate since the start of last year as increasingly confident companies took on more staff to meet higher demand. Business growth expectations struck a nine-month high. Price pressures meanwhile moderated."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%, the S&P 500 index was 0.4% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%.
In Europe equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt advanced 0.6%.
