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London stocks saw a slight increase on Friday, heading for a third consecutive month of gains as investors digested inflation reports from Europe and the U.S., the FTSE 100 index, a blue-chip, rose by 0.3%. Despite experiencing a third week of declines, the index is still 1.4% higher for the month of May, marking a third straight month of gains. On the other hand, the mid-cap FTSE 250 remained unchanged and is on track to record its first weekly loss in five weeks.National Grid topped the FTSE and British Gas owner Centrica saw a rise in their stock value. Jefferies reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on National Grid, while RBC Capital Markets upgraded Centrica to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’. RBC Capital Markets cited a more positive outlook on numbers as the reason for the upgrade and also mentioned that upcoming reporting could lead to positive returns for shareholders.AB Foods, the owner of Primark, experiences a 3.2% decrease in its share value, falling to 2,576 p and becoming one of the top losers on the FTSE 100 index. Howard Investments has agreed to sell approximately 10.3 million shares in AB Foods, aiming to raise around 262 million pounds ($332.74 million). UBS is facilitating the sale at an issue price of 2,550 pence, which represents a 4.1% discount compared to the last closing price on May 30. Following the sale, Howard Investments and its parent company Wittington Investment are expected to hold a combined shareholding of about 56.1% in AB Foods. Despite this development, AB Foods’ stock has seen a 12.4% increase year-to-date as of the last closing date.JD Sports, a British sportswear retailer, saw a 7.5% dip in its shares, which were trading at 123.75p due to a 6.4% decline in like-for-like (LFL) sales in the UK in the first quarter. The company’s group underlying LFL sales also fell by 0.7%. Despite this, JD Sports reiterated its profit outlook for 2024/2025, citing a ‘volatile’ market. The first quarter was expected to be the weakest, but they anticipate a more positive balance for the rest of the year. The company reported an annual profit before tax and adjusting items of 917.2 million pounds ($1.17 billion), in line with guidance but lower than the 991.4 million pounds made in 2022/23. JD shares have fallen approximately 25% year-to-date.Flutter Entertainment’s CFO, Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, is leaving, causing the London-listed shares to drop by 7.4% to 13,880p, the lowest since January 17. The current finance boss of Flutter International, Rob Coldrake, will replace Edgecliffe-Johnson. The stock will now be primarily listed in the US starting Friday, and is currently down approximately 1% year-to-date, compared to around 8% gains as of the last close.
FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8220

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