London’s FTSE 100 drifted in and out of positive territory in afternoon dealings before finally closing slightly higher on Friday, but equities across the Atlantic tumbled as worries over artificial intelligence sector spending sent tech stocks deeply into the red.

The FTSE 100 index edged up 7.71 points, or 0.1%, at 10,729.78. The FTSE 250 ended 220.80 points lower, 0.9%, at 24,453.36, and the AIM all-share declined 10.37 points, 1.4%, at 753.08.

For the week, the FTSE 100 added 0.4%, the FTSE 250 rose 0.9% and the AIM all-share also climbed 0.9%.

The pound was quoted at 1.3396 dollars late on Friday afternoon, higher than 1.3369 dollars at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling rose to 1.1996 euros from 1.1977 euros a day earlier. Earlier on Friday, the pound topped the 1.20 euros threshold for the first time since April 2025.

The euro was flat at 1.1163 dollars from 1.1162 dollars late on Thursday.…