(Sharecast News) - London stocks managed to finish above the line on Friday, as investors digested reports of further Russian attacks on infrastructure in western Ukraine, near to the border with Poland.
The FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.26% at 7,404.73, and the FTSE 250 was 0.86% firmer at 21,156.62.
Sterling was in the green as well, last rising 0.21% on the dollar to trade at $1.3177, and strengthening 0.57% against the euro to €1.1923.
"As we head into the weekend, we have retreated from the highs of the week on rising scepticism that Russia's interest in a negotiated agreement is in any way serious, although the FTSE 100 is proving to be slightly more resilient," said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.
"There are also rising concerns about president Putin's state of mind, after a speech where he lashed out at 'scum' and 'traitors'.
"Talk of a ceasefire continues to come across as premature at a time when the rhetoric from Russia is anything but conciliatory and would also require a major climbdown from one side or the other."
Hewson said that, with their respective positions still being miles apart - and Russia still targeting civilians - an imminent de-escalation was still not looking likely, leading to Friday's modest market pullback.
"The energy sector has led today's pullback, with the decline in oil prices from this month's highs, prompting some profit taking on the likes of BP and Shell."
In the latest news from Ukraine, Russia's president accused the country he was invading of dragging out negotiations with "unrealistic" proposals.
According to the Financial Times, Vladimir Putin told German chancellor Olaf Scholz that Kyiv was "trying to drag out the negotiation process by putting forward new unrealistic proposals."
In the call on Friday morning, Putin claimed Moscow was "ready to propose a search for solutions in line with its well-known principled approaches" during the fourth round of talks.
People briefed on the state of negotiations said that "significant" progress was made in recent days, including on proposals for a Russian ceasefire and withdrawal, in exchange for Kyiv declaring its neutrality, the FT added.
Ukraine and its Western allies were still concerned, however, that Russia might not be negotiating in good faith, and could instead be buying time to resupply its stalling military.
Putin also said the West was turning a blind eye to Ukrainian "war crimes", and claimed the Russian military was doing everything possible to protect the lives of civilians.
Those claims from Moscow came amid reports of gun battles in the south eastern port city of Mariupol, where the mayor told media Russian troops had reached the city centre.
Rescuers were said to be working furiously in the city, to rescue more than 1,000 people trapped in the basement of a theatre that was destroyed by Russian bombing.
In equity markets, pub giant JD Wetherspoon rose 1.88% after it reported a halving of interim pre-tax losses, as Covid restrictions eased.
The company said trading in the last three weeks was now just 2.6% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Housebuilders were pacing gains, benefitting from the tail-wind of the Bank of England's policy meeting on Thursday, which saw rate-setters temper their outlook for interest rates.
Berkeley Group was up 3.09%, Barratt Developments added 0.04%, and Taylor Wimpey finished the day 2.1% firmer.
B&Q owner Kingfisher jumped 3.3% by the close, ahead of its results announcement next week.
Online grocer and warehousing technology developer Ocado jumped 7.6%, bouncing back from a thrashing on Thursday, when it warned of rising costs.
Vodafone Group advanced 1.33% after Reuters reported that global infrastructure funds had approached the company to invest in its $16bn mast company Vantage Towers.
Power generation company ContourGlobal jumped 5.04% after it reported a record full-year financial performance, and said trading in the new year was ahead of its own expectations.
Drinks maker C&C fizzed 1.5% higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Shore Capital, while Softcat was lifted 5.95% by an upgrade to 'buy' at Berenberg.
Outside the FTSE 350, Ted Baker surged 17.06% after US private equity firm Sycamore Partners confirmed it was in the early stages of considering a possible cash offer for the fashion retailer.
Components manufacturer Essentra finished flat, after it hailed a "strong" full-year trading performance, driven by accelerated growth in the final quarter of the year.
On the downside, Investec slipped 0.83% despite lifting its full-year profit guidance, driven by the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,404.73 0.26%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,156.62 0.86%
techMARK (TASX) 4,357.40 0.47%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,189.00p 7.60%
Entain (ENT) 1,725.00p 4.39%
Kingfisher (KGF) 294.50p 3.30%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,131.00p 3.09%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 49.14p 2.38%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 9,592.00p 2.37%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 581.20p 2.36%
Croda International (CRDA) 7,582.00p 2.35%
Halma (HLMA) 2,548.00p 2.28%
Rightmove (RMV) 679.40p 2.10%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Polymetal International (POLY) 121.00p -13.63%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 143.00p -2.46%
ITV (ITV) 83.82p -2.35%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,647.50p -2.34%
BP (BP.) 360.40p -2.08%
M&G (MNG) 212.80p -1.66%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 639.00p -1.27%
Shell (SHEL) 1,941.80p -1.20%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,705.00p -1.07%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 93.18p -1.06%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Helios Towers (HTWS) 138.60p 15.50%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 307.50p 9.82%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 150.50p 6.76%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 122.70p 5.96%
Softcat (SCT) 1,726.00p 5.95%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 270.00p 5.26%
Contour Global (GLO) 200.00p 5.04%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 237.00p 4.87%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 190.80p 4.84%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 223.00p 4.79%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Petropavlovsk (POG) 1.90p -4.76%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 123.80p -4.18%
NCC Group (NCC) 177.80p -3.90%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 90.12p -3.68%
Capita (CPI) 21.02p -2.95%
SSP Group (SSPG) 247.80p -2.75%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 234.60p -2.74%
Molten Ventures (GROW) 733.00p -2.55%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,560.00p -2.47%
Reach (RCH) 193.80p -2.42%