London stocks were little changed by midday on Friday as traders kept their powder dry ahead of the latest US non-farm payrolls report.
The FTSE 100 was up just 0.1% at 7,084.63.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: “US employers are expected to have added 490k jobs in September, up from 235k in August, which was a big miss on the forecast. NFPs are important and could be market moving later since the Fed has explicitly tied tapering + subsequent rates lift-off to the labour market. A weak number could just dissuade the Fed from announcing its taper in Nov, but I see this as a low-risk outcome. More likely is steady progress on jobs (ADP was strong on Wed) and the November taper announcement to follow. The persistence of inflation and rising fuel costs in particular has changed the equation for the Fed entirely. Benign inflation that we were used to is no longer to be counted on to provide cover for trying to juice the labour market.
“The problem is not demand side, it’s supply side. Central banks are seeing rising inflationary pressures that are proving more persistent than thought. Slowing economic growth and risks to the outlook stem from the supply side not the demand side – so pumping the demand side even further into a supply side crisis is not helping matters much.”
In equity markets, British Airways and Iberia owner IAG was the standout gainer after Transport Secretary Grant Schapps said he wants to scrap expensive PCR tests for international travellers returning to England in time for the October half-term holiday. Engine maker Rolls-Royce was also a high riser.
Electronic parts distributor Electrocomponents rose as it lifted annual guidance after reporting interim trading ahead of expectations, but said supply chain issues would persist.
Elsewhere, Tullow Oil was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Jefferies, while Marks & Spencer was boosted by an upgrade to ‘add’ at Peel Hunt.
On the downside, Royal Mail turned lower, having gained earlier after saying it had bought Canadian logistics company Mid-Nite Sun Transportation for CAD$360m (£210.5m).
Weir was under the cosh after the engineer said late on Thursday that profit was set to take a hit of up to £40m following a cyberattack.
Unite Group was also weaker after the student accommodation provider said 2022 rental income was set to fall due to lower rental income in terms two and three of 2021/2022.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,084.63 0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,580.86 0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 4,543.44 -0.15%
FTSE 100 – Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 180.68p 2.18%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 143.42p 1.56%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 478.90p 1.46%
Kingfisher (KGF) 324.60p 1.34%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,258.00p 1.34%
Pearson (PSON) 746.00p 1.25%
Ferguson (FERG) 10,460.00p 1.11%
Tesco (TSCO) 276.10p 1.08%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,952.00p 0.98%
BP (BP.) 348.10p 0.96%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,609.00p -1.71%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,539.00p -1.56%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,786.50p -1.33%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 382.60p -1.26%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 580.20p -1.19%
Rightmove (RMV) 671.80p -1.09%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 14,580.00p -1.05%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,316.00p -1.03%
3i Group (III) 1,254.00p -0.95%
BT Group (BT.A) 145.00p -0.85%
FTSE 250 – Risers
Harbour Energy (HBR) 375.60p 6.34%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 21.84p 5.61%
Trainline (TRN) 342.00p 4.27%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 234.00p 4.23%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,756.00p 4.18%
IP Group (IPO) 128.00p 4.07%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,055.00p 3.38%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 96.05p 3.00%
Greggs (GRG) 3,020.00p 3.00%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 191.60p 2.79%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 298.80p -13.89%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,597.00p -3.07%
Unite Group (UTG) 1,074.00p -2.67%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 378.40p -2.37%
Currys (CURY) 120.50p -2.11%
Draper Esprit (GROW) 925.00p -1.91%
Reach (RCH) 347.00p -1.84%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 265.50p -1.67%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 1,966.00p -1.60%
Ibstock (IBST) 191.90p -1.54%
