FTSE 100 falls after nearing record high earlier on Friday

The FTSE 100 neared its record value before dipping to finish the day in the red on Friday.

London’s blue-chip index fell 3.01 points, or 0.04%, to end the day at 8,376.63.

It had climbed above 8,400 earlier in the day and neared May’s all-time closing high of 8,445 before falling back.

The session came as business groups gave mixed reactions to potential Labour plans to open up a “compressed hours” four-day work week to more of the workforce.

Some urged caution, while the Trades Union Congress said offering employees more flexible working arrangements “makes good economic sense”.

At the end of the day in Europe Frankfurt’s Dax index fell 0.03%, while the Cac 40 in Paris had closed down 0.13%.

In New York, a little while after markets had closed in Europe, the S&P 500 had gained 0.21%, while the Dow Jones was 0.12% lower.

On currency markets the pound was trading 0.30% lower against the dollar at 1.3129 and had dropped 0.13% against the euro at 1.1872.

It came as data showed the number of mortgages approved for home buyers has jumped to its highest level since the month the mini-budget was delivered under then-prime minister Liz Truss.

The Bank of England recorded 62,000 approvals for house purchases in July – the highest total since 65,100 were recorded in September 2022.

Mortgage rates surged after then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s September 2022 statement delivered as part of a “growth plan”.

In recent weeks, mortgage rates have been edging down and, earlier this month, the Bank of England base rate was cut by 0.25 percentage points to 5%.

The Bank’s Money and Credit report said house purchase approvals increased from 60,600 in June.

Brent crude oil futures were down 1.351% to 78.86 US dollars as markets were closing in London.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were: LondonMetric Property, up 5.1p to 204p; Entain, up 14p to 646p; Land Securities, up 12.5p to 629.5p; Severn Trent, up 39p to 2,571p; and Unite Group, up 12.5p to 957.5p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were: Fresnillo, down 13p to 541.5p; Whitbread, down 52p to 2,885p; Intermediate Capital, down 36p to 2,126p; Anglo American, down 30p to 2,209p; and BP, down 5.35p to 429.4p.