FTSE 100 closes at 3-month high as energy and defensive stocks rise

Nov 13 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 closed at three-month highs on Friday, lifted by energy and consumer stocks, as a wobble in the global AI trade pushed investor towards defensive sectors.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.4%, touching its highest since early August. The midcap FTSE 250 dipped 0.4%.

• US stock indexes fell as concerns about Nvidia's leadership and AI financing reignited a selloff in technology shares [.N]

• However, broader European stocks were trading near record highs, helped by a relative lack of technology firms in the region

• British healthcare heavyweights AstraZeneca and GSK - seen as defensive companies that are relatively insulated from economic cycles - nudged higher

• The FTSE 350 utilities index rose 1.1%, with Centrica jumping 3.8% to lead sectoral gains

• Oil majors BP and Shell gained about 1.5% each as crude prices edged higher following strikes on Saudi Arabian infrastructure by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis and attacks on tankers shipping crude out of the Gulf [O/R]

• Aviva rose 3.4% after the British insurer posted a 19% rise in general insurance premiums for the first nine months of 2026

• Investors digested softer-than-expected US producer price data for October, but continued to price in a 25-basis-point interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve in December

• UK inflation readings and employment figures are scheduled to be released next week

• The Bank of England increased its main lending rate earlier this month, and traders are pricing in an over 84% chance of another 25-basis-point hike next month, according to data compiled by LSEG

(Reporting by Darshan Kumar and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Susan Fenton)