The country's gross domestic product (gdp) shrank by 0.1%, hampered by a slowdown in services, particularly medical and social services related to Covid-19. This decline was partially offset by a recovery in tourism and catering, the Office for National Statistics said. This compares with forecasts for a 0.3% drop.

In June alone, activity contracted by 0.6%, after a 0.4% increase in May, partly due to the impact of bank holidays related to the celebrations of the jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. This comes after a 0.8% gain the first quarter.

In other news, drugmaker GSK bounced back after heavy selling due to concerns about litigation about the drug Zantac.

Flutter jumped 7.1% after the online betting firm said it posted an upbeat guidance for 2022. Meanwhile, 888 Holdings posted on Friday a steep decline in pretax profit for the first half of 2022.

 

Things to read today:

The NHS is being squeezed in a vice (Financial Times)

Putin’s War Hurls His Economy Back Four Years in One Quarter (Bloomberg)

U.K. economy contracts in the second quarter as cost-of-living crisis bites (CNBC)