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Investing.com -- British stocks gained in Friday afternoon trading, and the pound rose, while other European indices also climbed after trading lower earlier in the day.
As of 11:35 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.04%, while the British GBP/USD gained 0.03% against the dollar to trade above 1.34.
Germany’s DAX index was little changed, and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.1%.
Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) shares rise after DOJ dismisses whistleblower claims
Shares in Standard Chartered rose over 3% in London trading after the bank announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had dismissed claims from two whistleblowers regarding alleged mishandling of a sanctions breach investigation.
The British lender issued a statement late Thursday expressing it was "pleased and unsurprised" with the outcome, referencing a DOJ filing. Standard Chartered said the filing confirmed that "the claims underlying this case are false."
Revolution Beauty shares surge as sale process ends, co-founder returns as CEO
In other London market news, Revolution Beauty Group Plc shares jumped more than 10% on Friday after the company ended its formal sale process and announced the return of co-founder Tom Allsworth as chief executive.
The U.K.-based beauty company stated that its board had "terminated discussions with all parties" after determining that no acceptable offer was received. Revolution Beauty concluded that closing the sale process was in the best interests of the company.
Morgan Advanced Materials (LON:MGAMM) shares gain after business sale to Vesuvius (LON:VSVS)
Meanwhile, Morgan Advanced Materials saw its shares climb more than 4% following the announcement of its Molten (LON:GROW) Metal Systems business sale to Vesuvius for £75.8 million.
The transaction includes Morgan’s 75% stake in Morganite Crucible (India) Ltd. and is expected to finalize by early October 2025, pending shareholder approvals.
Under the agreement terms, Morgan will receive approximately £55.8 million in shares of Foseco India Ltd., Vesuvius’ listed unit, through a share exchange and £20 million in cash for the remaining operations.