London midday: FTSE pulls back from record highs ahead of US jobs data

UK stocks were lower on Friday morning but trading within a narrow range with investors cautious ahead of the all-important US non-farm jobs report.

Markets were also trading near never-before-seen heights, giving participants an extra reason to tread lightly in London.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.12% at 6,952.80 by midday, retreating slightly after settling at a new all-time closing record of 6,961.14 on Thursday.

“The FTSE struggled to do much of anything this morning, remaining flat for most of the day with the odd dip to the down side. […] It was a similar situation in the US futures, with investors unwilling to take any risks before the all-important non-farm figures are announced,” said analyst Connor Campbell from Spreadex.

Thursday’s gains were driven by the European Central Bank (ECB), which announced that its €1.1trn quantitative easing package to boost growth and lift prices would start next week. The ECB also lowered its forecasts for inflation to just 0% this year, but lifted its growth estimates for the Eurozone economy.

In economic data on Friday, German industrial output rose by more than expected in January, marking the fifth straight monthly increase, while final estimates for Eurozone gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter were confirmed at 0.3%, unchanged from the initial reading.

However, the focus of Friday’s session will be on the non-farm payrolls data Stateside due out at 13:30, with analysts expecting a dip in the unemployment rate from 5.7% to 5.6% in February. Non-farm payrolls are predicted to come in a 235,000, down from 257,000 the month before.

Weir Group gains, Thomas Cook surges

Shares in British engineering giant Weir Group rose on the back of market chatter that a cash-rich private equity consortium in the US is looking to table a 2,500p per share break-up offer for the group, compared with current prices at around 1,800p.

Thomas Cook jumped after the company announced a new strategic partnership with Chinese investment giant Fosun International which will see the latter take a 5% stake in the travel operator. Fosun is investing £91.8m and intends over time to increase its shareholding to around 10%.

Kingfisher flapped lower after Citigroup said the DIY retailer’s upcoming strategy update at the end of the month is “likely to disappoint”. The bank played down hopes for an announcement of a broad store closure, given management’s cautious approach.

Precious metal miners such as Fresnillo, Randgold and Acacia Mining were in the red as gold and silver prices weakened.

Meanwhile, annuity provider Just Retirement dropped on the news that its majority shareholder is to sell a 10% stake, lowering its interest to 52%.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,181.15 -0.10%
FTSE 100 6,952.80 -0.12%
FTSE 250 17,347.92 +0.22%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,835.00p +5.52%
ITV (ITV) 246.10p +2.12%
Glencore (GLEN) 297.25p +1.85%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,171.00p +1.74%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 682.00p +1.56%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,025.00p +1.03%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 280.40p +0.94%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 150.30p +0.87%
Carnival (CCL) 3,064.00p +0.86%
BG Group (BG.) 929.90p +0.83%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 723.00p -1.83%
Kingfisher (KGF) 360.90p -1.64%
Intu Properties (INTU) 356.70p -1.52%
Schroders (SDR) 3,130.00p -1.51%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,766.00p -1.45%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,950.00p -1.17%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,702.00p -1.16%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,607.00p -1.11%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,249.00p -1.10%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,117.00p -1.06%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 143.00p +18.57%
Afren (AFR) 6.49p +11.32%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 178.10p +4.15%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,063.00p +4.01%
DCC (DCC) 3,995.00p +3.66%
Premier Oil (PMO) 158.90p +2.85%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 617.50p +2.83%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 843.50p +2.62%
AO World (AO.) 189.70p +2.49%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 174.70p +2.46%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 162.70p -6.92%
RPS Group (RPS) 248.60p -3.64%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 723.50p -2.89%
Greggs (GRG) 975.50p -2.55%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,497.00p -2.35%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 266.60p -2.20%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,468.00p -2.13%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 149.90p -2.09%
IP Group (IPO) 241.00p -2.03%
Lonmin (LMI) 134.00p -1.83%