UK's FTSE 100 escapes global tech weakness as consumer staples shine

By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Shashwat Chauhan

July 16 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended higher on Thursday, in contrast to weakness in technology shares globally, with consumer staples shares among top gainers, though risk appetite remained in check amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.5% higher at 10,572.2 points, while the midcap FTSE 250 also climbed 0.5%.

• Beverages added 2.4%, while retailers and personal goods climbed 1.9% and 2.6%, respectively.

• Pharma and biotech rose 1.2% with drugmaker GSK up 2.1% and AstraZeneca up 0.5%.

• "The rotation in markets has seen money desert chip and AI stocks, and flow to areas where these are either less prominent or non-existent," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

• The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1% on Wall Street, while the pan-European STOXX 600 tech index dipped 0.2%.

• Heavyweight banks advanced 0.5%, while oil and gas rose 0.8%, in contrast to declining crude oil prices.

• Oil prices inched lower, though hovered near their highs as Iran and the United States exchanged intensified fire in a week-long escalation, though Iran's release of a U.S. citizen pointed towards a path to avert the resumption of all-out war.

• On the downside, precious metal miners slipped 2.4% and industrial metal miners lost 1.5% amid weakness in metal prices.

• Rotork jumped 66.8% after Swiss engineering group ABB announced a $5.5 billion takeover of the British automation company.

• Ocado tumbled 10.4% to a 13-year low after the British online grocery and technology group failed to show tangible progress in talks to secure new U.S. partners to boost its business to effectively compete with rapid delivery firms.

• Frasers Group fell 1.9% after the British retailer declined to provide a fiscal 2027 outlook.

• Meanwhile, Britain's economy eked out minimal growth in May as the services industry expanded but other sectors shrank, suggesting fragile confidence among businesses against the backdrop of the Iran war and a change of prime minister at home.

(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)