THE London markets limped towards a marginal rise as sentiment cooled throughout the trading session while bleak GDP figures weighed on the pound.

Traders saw the FTSE make a small rebound following a dire showing on Thursday but failed to match early hopes after falling from intra-day highs.

The FTSE 100 closed 28.48 points higher at 6,105.18p at the end of trading on Friday.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said on Friday: "Stock markets have rebounded from yesterday's horrendous declines as traders' fears have faded.

"A portion of the declines that were seen yesterday have been recouped, but stocks are still down since Wednesday's close.

"The landscape hasn't changed in the past 24 hours as there is still a possibility of a second wave of Covid-19 cases as countries reopen their economies."

Europe's biggest markets were broadly mixed at the close of play, with the German Dax losing all its gains after concerns over a potential second wave weighed on stocks.

The German Dax decreased by 0.18%, while the French Cac moved 0.49% higher.

Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones had a strong start, pulling some ground from Thursday on the back of gains from volatile travel stocks.

Meanwhile, sterling sank on the back of the Office for National Statistics' latest GDP reading for April.

It revealed a 20.4% slump in the economy in the first full month of lockdown, as the impact was worse than economists predicted.

The value of the pound fell 0.59% versus the US dollar at 1.252 and was down 0.16% against the euro at 1.113.

Miners and travel firms helped to buoy the FTSE 100 slightly higher on Friday as multinationals made particularly strong gains.

In company news, Informa jumped after it told investors that major events could be back on the cards in China next month.

China Beauty Expo, which was originally scheduled for March, will become the first major Informa event in the post-coronavirus world. Shares in the company bounced 26.4p higher to 460.6p as a result.

Pub and bar operator Mitchells & Butlers moved higher after it secured £100 million in extra funding from its banks.

The All Bar One owner also said it is losing around £15m in earnings before tax and interest for each four-week period while its pubs remain shut. Shares moved up 11p to 212p.

Meanwhile, rival The City Pub Group made smaller gains as it said it is preparing to "cautiously" and "safely" welcome customers.

It came as the group revealed that revenues jumped by 31% to £60m in 2019 as it rapidly grew its accommodation business. Shares closed 3p higher at 95p.

The price of oil rebounded as a mixture of short covering and bargain hunting helped the energy market on the road to recovery.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil increased by 1.88% to $39.02.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Pearson, up 60p at 573p, Centrica, up 3.04p at 43.16p, Melrose, up 7.4p at 118.55p, and Carnival, up 79p at 1,269p.

The biggest fallers of the day were BAE System, down 11.8p at 504.8p, Rentokil, down 8.9p at 480.4p, LSE, down 132p at 7,962p, and Rightmove, down 7.8p at 560.6p.