The UK stock market drifted down a bit on Friday, underperforming its peers, as investors remain a bit cautious ahead of proposed negotiations between U.S. and Iran this weekend to bring an end to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 22.88 points or 0.22% at 10,567.11 nearly half an hour before noon.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.