12:47 PM EDT, 10/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The UK's FTSE 100 index closed the trading week 0.13% higher amid earnings releases from several corporate heavyweights. AstraZeneca (AZN.L) was the top gainer on the blue-chip index, rising 7.24% on Friday's close, after reporting an increase in third-quarter attributable profit to $3.12 billion from $2.53 billion a year ago. For the full year, the drugmaker maintained its guidance of mid-to-high single-digit percentage growth in total revenue and a low double-digit percentage increase in core EPS. Meanwhile, oil giant BP (BP.L) edged up 0.71% after attributable profit in the third quarter surged year over year to $4.7 billion from $1.16 billion. "Looking forward, with most of BP's refining exposure in the US being in the Mid-Continent, we expect the company's refining earnings to be more resilient than peers into 4Q, and less impacted by rising freight costs, further supported by heavy discounts on Canadian crude," RBC Capital Markets said in a quick-take note, with a positive sentiment. On the flip side, NatWest Group (NWG.L) was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100, tumbling 8.63%, after logging a decline in third-quarter attributable profit to 1.53 billion pounds sterling from 1.6 billion pounds. Looking ahead, the bank continues to expect total income excluding notable items of 17.9 billion pounds for 2026. In economic news, UK annual house price growth eased to 0.5% in October 2026 from the previous month's 0.8% rate, below the market estimate of 0.6% and marking the slowest pace since January 2024. The average price of houses stood at 273,566 pounds, data from Nationwide Building Society showed. "Market activity and house price growth have slowed in recent months, in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop. Geopolitical tensions remain high, with the conflict in the Middle East exerting upward pressure on energy prices, fanning inflation concerns," Nationwide's Chief Economist Robert Gardner said. "This in turn has led to mounting financial market expectations of Bank Rate increases, which have maintained upward pressure on the market interest rates which underpin mortgage pricing." The Bank of England is due to announce its latest rate decision next week. Oxford Economics said a rate hike "appears a done deal and is fully priced in by financial markets." "We expect the Monetary Policy Committee will hike Bank Rate by 25bps to 4% at its meeting on November 5. While there's still little evidence of second-round inflation effects, oil and natural gas futures curves are now much higher than when they triggered renewed MPC hawkishness in September," the research firm added.

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