FTSE 100 down 0.2, FTSE 250 off 0.2

Aug 16 Reuters UK39;s FTSE 100 slipped on Friday, after a fiveday rise that paved the way for a strong weekly gain for the benchmark stock index, as abating fears of a likely recession in the United States bolstered investor sentiment.

The globallyfocussed FTSE 100 was down 0.2 at 0716 GMT. However, it was on track for its biggest weekly gain since early May, owing to a strong recovery in global risk appetite after an early August stocks rout sparked by growing U.S. slowdown fears.

Thursday39;s U.S. retail sales data helped allay some of the recent recession fears in the world39;s largest economy, helping the UK39;s benchmark index to reclaim levels seen before Aug. 2, when a U.S. payrolls data deepened a heavy selloff in risk assets globally.

The domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 also slipped 0.2.

Most of the subindexes were trading in the negative territory, led by homebuilders such as Persimmon, while travel and leisure stocks were among the rare bright spots.

Data showed British retail sales rose 0.5 in July, in line with expectations, after a weak performance in June weighed on economic growth.

The squeeze on British consumers from high inflation in 2022 and 2023 is beginning to ease, in light of the Bank of England this month cutting interest rates for the first time from their 16year high.

While it39;s good news that the retail sector has returned to growth at the start of Q3, it is perhaps not as good as the 0.5…