FTSE 100 today: stocks rises as U.K. GDP beats forecasts, tariff worries persist

Summary:

• U.K. economy grew by 0.5% in Feb, beating expectations  
• FTSE 100 gain 41 points to 7,955.8

Investing.com -- British stocks opened slightly higher on Friday as the volatile week triggered by the tariff war neared its end amid ongoing tariff uncertainty, while official data showed that the U.K. economy grew 0.5% in February, beating forecasts.

As of 0710 GMT, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.5% and the midcap index FTSE Mid-Cap 250 gained 0.5%. The British pound rose 0.3% against the dollar to 1.3. 

According to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday, February’s growth was broad-based, with gains across both the services and manufacturing sectors. This followed a 0.1% contraction in January, driven largely by weakness in the production industry.

Economists had expected a modest 0.1% rise in February.

Analysts at Capital Economics noted that February’s stronger-than-expected growth was encouraging, but cautioned that the outlook remains uncertain. They pointed to upcoming business tax increases in April and broader economic headwinds as factors that could weigh on future performance. The firm also highlighted that the economy has expanded in just four of the past nine months, suggesting limited momentum ahead.

In Europe, German inflation eased to 2.3% in March, according to the Federal Statistics Office, confirming preliminary data. 

DAX index in Germany climbed 0.5%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.7%.