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by 3 minutes Read (Click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window for a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK, and European financial markets.) * The FTSE 100 is up 0.2 percent, while the FTSE 250 is up 0.3 percent, as Jefferies maintains its bullish outlook on UK homebuilders. JD Sports is down owing to shareholder revolt. (Edits prices and adds a comment) Reuters, July 2 – On Friday, homebuilders and consumer discretionary sectors supported London’s FTSE 100, which was expected to close the week higher as investors shrugged off a recent spike in coronavirus infections ahead of plans to lift the UK’s lockdown this month. The FTSE 100 index rose 0.2 percent, with homebuilders leading the way with a rise of roughly 1.4 percent. Reckitt Benckiser, GlaxoSmithKline, and Unilever, all major consumer goods companies, increased between 0.5 and 1.0 percent. On Friday, Jefferies maintained its bullish outlook on UK homebuilders, upgrading Barratt Developments and Bellway from “hold” to “buy.” The domestically focused mid-cap index rose 0.5 percent, putting it on track to conclude the week higher, with homebuilder Bellway leading the way. “Markets in London are relatively calm right now and have stabilized near the 7,000 level, with investors expecting greater economic growth as the UK confirms to loosen its lockdown rules in a few days,” ETX Capital analyst Michael Baker said. Miners were among the top gainers, up 1.1 percent, with Anglo American providing the biggest lift to the blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 has risen about 10% this year, but has been fairly range-bound in the preceding quarter as investor concerns about an increase in coronavirus infections confused investor judgment on the country’s economic revival rate. Following a shareholder revolt over managerial compensation at Britain’s largest sportswear retailer, JD Sports Fashion said after market hours on Thursday that the chair of its remuneration committee will step down from the board. Its stock fell 0.2 percent on Friday. Investors were looking for evidence of balanced economic growth with tame inflationary pressure in the United States’ jobs figures, which were expected to show signs of balanced economic growth with moderate inflationary pressure. Shashank Nayar contributed reporting from Bengaluru, and Subhranshu Sahu and Shounak Dasgupta edited the piece./nRead More

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