FTSE 100 Rebounds From Selloff

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks rose sharply on Friday after sharp losses the previous day following the arrest of chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Investors drew some comfort from a weakening pound and a late Wall Street recovery overnight, helped by hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve could pause its interest-rate hikes.

The British pound weakened against the euro as Brexit uncertainty persisted and figures from the Lloyds Banking Group subsidiary Halifax showed that U.K. house price inflation slowed more-than-expected in November to its lowest level since December 2012.

The house price index rose 0.3 percent year-on-year in the three months to November, after a 1.5 percent increase in the three months to October. Economists had expected 1 percent growth.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 107 points or 1.59 percent at 6,810 in opening deals after declining 3.2 percent on Thursday.

Real estate investment trust Land Securities Group jumped 3 percent. The company has expanded its presence in Southwark with the acquisition of a 1.6 acre site in Lavington Street, SE1 for 87.1 million pounds.

AstraZeneca advanced 0.8 percent despite its cancer drug Imfinzi failing in a late-stage trial.

Housebuilder Berkeley Group Holdings rose nearly 3 percent after reporting its first-half earnings.

Associated British Foods tumbled 2.5 percent. The food processing and retailing company has warned of challenging trading at Primark in the run-up to Christmas.