London close: Stocks end with modest gain, but down on week overall

UK stocks ended the final session of the week with a modest rise, although on the week the index was significantly lower.The FTSE 100 closed 9.68 points higher at 6,649.39.Markets are concerned about mounting geopolitical tensions, with the government due to take a vote on whether to participate in a war against the "Islamic State" on Friday evening.David Cameron and Ed Miliband took to the stands in the House of Commons on Friday morning in an attempt to persuade parliament to support airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.Cameron urged members to support military action in the region, underlining Britain's clear basis for action in international law, strengthened by a direct request for British intervention made by the Iraqi government.The Prime Minister also highlighted the international coalition's need for Britain's unique military and intelligence capabilities in order to fight the Islamist militant group."Is there a threat to the British people? The answer is yes," Cameron told parliament, saying he thought action would need to last "years" to be effective.Members are expected to vote in favour of entering the conflict.Soaring house prices could drive workers away from LondonLondon could be waving goodbye to a number of workers in the future, as the struggle to meet living costs in the British capital continues to rise.London's housing shortage could put the city's future at risk unless swift actions are taken to address one of the capital's chronic problems, research conducted by YouGov shows.Japanese CPI disappointsLooking abroad, Japanese consumer price inflation came in weaker than expected for August. The headline inflation rate slowed to a 3.3% year-on-year pace from 3.4%, with the ex-fresh food measure down to 3.1% from 3.3% (consensus: 3.2%)."Softer Japanese CPI data reinforced fears of more BoJ easing and hurt the JPY," analysts at UnicreditResearch said.Over in the States, gross domestic product (GDP) was revised higher in the second quarter, supported by better retail sales and foreign trade numbers.The US economy grew at a 4.6% annual rate in the three months to end of June, as predicted by analysts.Easyjet shares take off thanks to comments from JefferiesShares in Easyjet flew higher after Jefferies said the airline was situated to benefit from the recent problems with Air France-KLM, which has been forced to cancel numerous flights due to pilot strike action. The broker also predicted the group would have a positive finish to the year.Astrazeneca shares also squeezed higher after the company received positive feedback for Moventig, its new treatment for opioid-induced constipation.British Land shares were lifted by Societe Generale after it lifted its rating from 'hold' to 'buy'.Meanwhile, Sports Direct shares slumped into the red one day after its boss, Mike Ashley, yesterday surprised the market with the news it has completed a "put" option with Goldman Sachs in a complicated move that it said "reflects Sports Direct's growing relationship with Tesco and belief in Tesco's long-term future". The option relates to 23m Tesco shares.Tesco, together with its sector peers Sainsbury and Morrison, all continued to decline amid the growing price war amongst supermarkets.Slower-than-expected growth in its solutions division and challenging market conditions in its currency division have forced security documents designer and producer De La Rue to issue a profit warning, sending shares sharply lower.The FTSE 250 company said it expects operating profit and underlying profit before tax for the year to be £20m lower than originally estimated.Market MoverstechMARK 2,810.43 +0.37%FTSE 100 6,649.39 +0.15%FTSE 250 15,383.69 -0.27%FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,393.00p +3.19%St James's Place (STJ) 739.00p +2.78%British Land Co (BLND) 706.00p +2.10%Fresnillo (FRES) 761.50p +1.80%Shire Plc (SHP) 5,330.00p +1.72%ARM Holdings (ARM) 919.00p +1.66%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,253.00p +1.62%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 370.70p +1.51%Hammerson (HMSO) 571.50p +1.51%Intu Properties (INTU) 330.50p +1.47%FTSE 100 - FallersSainsbury (J) (SBRY) 250.10p -3.06%Sports Direct International (SPD) 620.50p -2.67%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 171.00p -1.78%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,647.00p -1.78%IMI (IMI) 1,244.00p -1.66%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,010.00p -1.08%CRH (CRH) 1,389.00p -1.00%BG Group (BG.) 1,127.50p -0.97%TUI Travel (TT.) 387.50p -0.95%3i Group (III) 384.60p -0.88%FTSE 250 - RisersSupergroup (SGP) 1,136.00p +4.22%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,303.00p +3.00%Betfair Group (BET) 1,172.00p +2.99%Pets at Home Group (PETS) 176.00p +2.92%Evraz (EVR) 127.10p +2.92%Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 234.90p +2.76%SEGRO (SGRO) 365.40p +2.50%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 556.00p +2.39%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 224.90p +2.13%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 332.40p +2.03%FTSE 250 - FallersDe La Rue (DLAR) 504.00p -33.60%Greencore Group (GNC) 240.80p -4.82%Ocado Group (OCDO) 267.40p -3.67%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 4,878.00p -3.31%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 139.70p -2.92%Vesuvius (VSVS) 452.50p -2.88%Synthomer (SYNT) 215.00p -2.80%Playtech (PTEC) 716.00p -2.78%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 207.50p -2.72%Soco International (SIA) 372.40p -2.69%