UK's FTSE 100 clocks mild weekly gain as commodity-linked shares rise

London witnessed a mild rise in the FTSE 100 on Friday, as gains in mining stocks helped the blue-chip index recover. Despite the week being plagued by Middle East tensions and rising inflation concerns, the FTSE 100 managed to close 0.6% higher at 10,816.6 points, marking a 0.6% gain for the week. The FTSE 250 also saw an increase of 0.9%, marking its first weekly decline in six months.

Precious and industrial metal miners, such as Antofagasta and Endeavour Mining, led the gains in the FTSE 100, with their shares rising 5.4% and 4.1%, respectively, driven by higher gold and copper prices. These gains were fueled by a weakened US dollar, resulting from the U.S. Treasury's bond buyback move. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at the possibility of further increasing the government's repurchases of Treasuries to support the debt market, which had started to falter after a surprise plan to double the buybacks.

Meanwhile, global stocks prepared for their largest weekly decline since mid-July, as global bond markets continued to show little signs of stabilizing. Iran threatened a "devastating" response to any new US threats, following Washington's pledge to impose the toughest financial penalties in history to topple the Iranian leadership.

British retail sales dipped in July, as expected, following a surge in June driven by the hot weather and promotions during the men's soccer World Cup. However, the UK's services sector, the backbone of its economy, grew unexpectedly in the month, indicating resilience despite the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict. Gamma Communications, a British telecom services provider, surged 11.6% after announcing early talks with Dutch private equity firm Waterland Private Equity Investments over a potential takeover.

On the downside, energy services firm Hunting fell 14.5% after reducing its annual core profit forecast due to delays in a major Kuwait Oil Company tender process.