British stocks closed higher on Friday, driven by gains in defence and mining shares, ending a choppy week filled with uncertainty around U.S. tariffs. The benchmark FTSE 100 gained 1.1%, set for its best day in over one month.

UK Stocks Set for Second Consecutive Weekly Drop

The rise came after a summit in London where the UK and France announced a ‘coalition of the willing’ in an effort to secure peace in Ukraine.

The FTSE 100 slipped on Tuesday, as gains in the pound and declines in travel and leisure stocks kept a recovery from the previous session's selloff in check, while the midcap index regained ground. The blue-chip index FTSE 100 lost 0.

New York’s top index, the S&P 500, was making strides after markets opened, reversing some of the heavy losses from recent days.