British stocks inched lower on Friday, while the pound weakened as ongoing Middle East tensions weighed on sentiment, and fresh regional data showed a drop in February retail sales amid softening consumer confidence.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.04% and the British GBP/USD dropped 0.4% against the dollar to 1.3275. Germany’s DAX index fell 1.3%, while France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.9%.
Track the latest on UK stocks with InvestingPro UK round up UK retail sales volumes fell 0.4% month-over-month in February 2026, according to official data released Friday, beating consensus forecasts of a 0.7% decline. The February drop followed a revised 2.0% month-over-month increase in January, previously reported at 1.8%. The decline was broad-based, affecting five of the seven main retail categories tracked by the Office for National Statistics.
The Bank of England announced Friday that it is lowering and fixing the pricing of its Discount Window Facility to strengthen its role as an accessible, on-demand liquidity tool. The changes are designed to support firms’ liquidity management while maintaining incentives for prudent day-to-day operations.
AstraZeneca PLC (ST:AZN) shares rose 3.5% after the company announced that tozorakimab met its primary endpoint in two Phase III clinical trials for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The pharmaceutical company reported positive results from the OBERON and TITANIA trials on Thursday, showing that tozorakimab reduced the annualized rate of moderate-to-severe COPD exacerbations compared with placebo in the primary population of former smokers and in the overall population.
Shares in Harbour Energy PLC (LON:HBR) fell 2.8% after Germany’s BASF sold 80 million shares in the British oil producer at 273 pence each, a 9% discount to the previous close. Harbour Energy will not receive any proceeds from the sale. The FTSE-listed company’s shares traded at 284.4 pence, recovering from a session low of 273.25 pence, which matched the placing price.
