London stocks ended a quiet session in the black on Friday but the top-flight index ended a four-month winning streak, as investors continued to mull the impact of this week's Budget.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.3% at 9,720.51.

Investors were digesting the latest data from Zoopla, which showed that house prices across southern England edged lower in the four weeks to 23 November for the first time in 18 months in the run-up to the Budget.

Zoopla said market activity has cooled slightly since the summer as budget speculation encouraged many to "pause and reassess".

Prices in London dipped 0.1% on the year to £530,000.

Momentum remains strong elsewhere, it said, with prices rising as much as 3% in the North West and by 2-3% across northern England, Scotland and Wales amid steady demand.

Zoopla said speculation about potential new taxes on homes over £500,000 had a greater impact in the south, where more than a third of properties for sale fall into this bracket.

"This, combined with wider market trends, has nudged prices lower and expanded choice for buyers," it said. "The number of homes for sale in southern regions is now 8 to 15% higher than a year ago, helping to create a clear buyers' market. Although buying costs increased after the end of stamp duty reliefs in April 2025, mortgage rates have largely held steady."

Across the UK, house prices rose 1.3% on an annual basis to an average of £270,200.

Zoopla said: "After a long lead-in, the Budget bark was worse than its bite for the housing market. Homebuyers and sellers will welcome the end of the uncertainty that stalled housing market activity since the late summer.

"Our data shows the underlying demand to move home remains strong. With greater certainty, we expect a rebound in housing market activity that builds into the new year, with households who paused home moving decisions over recent months return with greater confidence.

"We expect the variance in price inflation between the South and the rest of the country to remain, and income growth is key to helping reset housing affordability and unlocking more home moves."

Elsewhere, the Lloyds business barometer for November showed that business confidence fell by eight points to 42%, with sentiment likely dented by uncertainty ahead of the Budget.

In equity markets, broker notes were having an impact, with budget airline easyJet higher after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' at Bernstein.

British American Tobacco rose after Citi lifted its price target to 4,850p from 4,450p and said it remains its "top pick" in beverages and tobacco.

IMI and Weir Group gained after BNPP Exane reinstated coverage of the stocks at 'outperform'.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miner Hochschild advanced as silver and gold prices rose.

Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG, said: "Silver extends its rally, approaching a record $55 per ounce high amid mounting supply concerns and growing expectations of further Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts.

"Whereas the gold price hit a two-week high and is on track for a fourth consecutive monthly gain, the price oil is heading for a fourth consecutive monthly loss, the longest streak in more than two years, pressured by oversupply concerns."

Mitchells & Butlers surged as it posted better-than-expected annual profits despite rising cost pressures, adding that like-for-like sales in the last two months had risen by 3.8% despite uncertainty ahead of the UK government's Budget.

The upbeat performance came as the company reported a jump in full-year pre-tax profits to £238m from £199m. Group LFL sales in the year to 27 September rose 4.3%.

On an adjusted basis, pre-tax profit came in at £246m, up from £211m a year earlier and beating expectations of £237.5m.

On the downside, Premier Inn owner Whitbread tumbled after it warned that increases in property taxes introduced in the Budget would cost an extra £40m-50m in 2027. It was also hit by a double downgrade to 'underperform' at Bernstein, which slashed its price target on the stock to 2,500p pence from 3,600p.

Burberry was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan, which said consensus might be too optimistic on the improvements expected at the luxury fashion brand for next year and beyond.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,720.51 0.27%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,165.17 0.33%
techMARK (TASX) 5,572.07 0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

easyJet (EZJ) 499.40p 2.97%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,758.00p 2.53%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,634.00p 1.93%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,421.00p 1.87%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 15,745.00p 1.84%
BP (BP.) 454.20p 1.61%
IMI (IMI) 2,434.00p 1.59%
WPP (WPP) 303.80p 1.57%
Informa (INF) 959.80p 1.37%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,422.00p 1.25%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Whitbread (WTB) 2,490.00p -11.45%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,139.50p -2.90%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 322.20p -2.13%
Mondi (MNDI) 868.00p -1.36%
3i Group (III) 3,158.00p -1.19%
Tesco (TSCO) 450.30p -1.08%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,133.00p -1.05%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,554.00p -1.02%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 10,015.00p -0.89%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 394.40p -0.80%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 288.50p 12.70%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 403.00p 5.89%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 375.20p 5.88%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 1,410.00p 3.64%
AO World (AO.) 109.80p 3.00%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,525.00p 2.85%
PayPoint (PAY) 488.50p 2.52%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,990.00p 2.37%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 703.00p 2.18%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 202.50p 2.07%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 173.40p -3.99%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,169.00p -2.66%
SSP Group (SSPG) 151.50p -2.51%
Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,814.00p -2.05%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 842.50p -2.03%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 325.60p -1.99%
OSB Group (OSB) 572.50p -1.89%
Trainline (TRN) 236.20p -1.75%
Breedon Group (BREE) 328.60p -1.73%
Mitie Group (MTO) 158.80p -1.73%