FTSE 100 edges higher; tracks worst week since mid-August as recovery slows

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The FTSE 100 edged higher on Friday, but was set for its worst weekly performance since mid-August as data showed the pace of domestic economic recovery stalled in July against the backdrop of a spike in COVID-19 cases and supply chain disruptions.

The blue-chip index rose 0.2%, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index advanced 0.2%.

Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell gained 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, while miners added 1.1%, tracking commodity prices.

Economic output rose just 0.1% in July, the Office for National Statistics said, the smallest monthly increase since January when Britain went into a new national lockdown.

The FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 were down about 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively, for the week, with the mid-cap index on course for its worst week in two months.

Cineworld Group edged 0.1% higher after the world's second-largest movie theatre operator said it will pay $170 million to Regal Entertainment shareholders, who were against the London-listed company's takeover of the U.S. chain in 2017.

Motor insurer Admiral, and life insurers Just Group , Aviva and Prudential , gained between 0.1% and 0.8% as Barclays raised its price targets on the stocks.

Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta