FTSE’s winning streak on par with best ever run in 2017; Novo Nordisk rises 2%

LONDON — The U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed higher by a whisker to keep its winning streak intact and be on par with its best run in 2017.

The index notched its 13th straight positive session with a 0.02% gain.

Most other European markets closed for the May 1 holiday. Stock exchanges in Germany, France, Italy and Spain are closed.

U.K. earnings included bank Lloyds, which dipped 2.3% after reporting a near 7% profit decline in the first quarter amid higher costs.

Housebuilder Persimmon said in a trading update that its home completion targets were on track, while the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) posted a 7.8% year-on-year rise in first-quarter income on an organic basis. Shares ended lower by 2.3%.

Rolls-Royce shares rose 1.8% after the engine-maker reiterated its 2025 profit and cash flow guidance and said it expected to be able to offset to impact of U.S. tariffs on its business through mitigated actions.

Outside of the earnings reaction, shares of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk rose by 2% after U.S. healthcare conglomerate CVS Health unveiled plans to increase patient access to Novo’s megahit weight loss drug Wegovy. From July, Caremark — CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit management subsidiary — will make Wegovy its preferred GLP-1 drug for obesity.

Novo Nordisk’s share rally also comes after Eli Lilly, the American manufacturer of rival obesity drug Mounjaro, posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on the back of surging demand for weight-loss and diabetes treatments.

Investors are also monitoring news that Spanish regulators approved the takeover of lender Banco Sabadell by rival BBVA, with the competition watchdog’s report now subject to government review and further “remedies” by the banks.

Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index ended Wednesday in the green, even after global stocks were rattled by news that the U.S. economy contracted 0.3% in the first quarter.

Economic sentiment in the region was helped by data showing the euro zone grew by a higher-than-expected 0.4% in the first quarter.

However, April was a weak month for European stocks more broadly, as the impact of U.S. tariff policy weighed. The Stoxx 600 lost 1.2% overall, though this was pared from a 4.2% decline in March.

Earnings have been in focus this week, with European companies warning of price rises and huge uncertainty in their outlooks due to tariffs, while several banks including UBS, Deutsche Bank and Barclays beat expectations.

“Bank stocks overall still look pretty good globally… those growth risks that’s we’re facing now that are centered around the U.S., that should be helping European financials,” Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at HSBC, told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Thursday.

“Overall it is still time to play defense, particularly in the U.S., the likes of small caps, consumer cyclicals are the ones you really want to avoid, go more toward the defensives, your staples, your health-care, your utilities.”

U.S. stock futures ticked higher early Thursday after Big Tech earnings beats from Meta Platforms and Microsoft.

— CNBC’s Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report.