London open: Stocks nudge lower ahead of non-farm payrolls

London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Friday, with investors reluctant to make any bold moves ahead of the release of the latest US non-farm payrolls report.

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,266.28, while the pound was 0.2% lower versus the dollar at 1.2308 and 0.3% weaker against the euro at 1.1149.

The Footsie fell on Thursday, missing out on the broader market rally - which was fuelled by optimism over Sino-US trade talks - as sterling hit a five-week high on expectations of a Brexit delay.

Sticking with Brexit, it was looking increasingly unlikely that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be able to secure a general election as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gained more support for his move to block one.

Corbyn has insisted that the no-deal prevention bill must become law before his party will support an election and was said to already be in talks with SNP chiefs about pushing back an election to as late as November to ensure that a no-deal Brexit doesn't occur.

Oanda anlyast Craig Erlam said: "Some suggest the PM is now out of options as the opposition refuse to give him what he wants. The reality is that an election looks inevitable and all of this week's theatrics are simply intended to feed the narrative of Parliament overriding the will of the people, and further delays will not help when that election comes.

"Sterling may be buoyed by this week's events but it may be less impressed if Boris' plan starts to come together.

Away from Brexit, all eyes will be on the release of the US non-fatm payrolls report, unemployment rate and average earnings, all due at 1330 BST.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "With US manufacturing apparently in recession and yet ADP payrolls growth showing reasonable levels of strength across small, medium and large business, it's difficult to gauge whether the US economy is heading towards a recession next year, or merely a slowdown.

"A better-than-expected August ADP payrolls report of 195k yesterday, along with a similarly positive non-farm payrolls report today is likely to pose a headache for Fed officials later this month, when they meet to discuss what to do with interest rates at their next meeting."

In equity markets, miners were under pressure as copper and iron ore prices retreated, with Anglo American and Rio Tinto both lower.

Elsewhere, Fresnillo, Acacia Mining, Hochschild and Centamin all fell amid weaker gold prices.

SIG lost ground as it first-half pre-tax profit slumped to £5.2m from £19.6m in the same period a year ago as revenue fell and the building materials supplier said there had been a marked deterioration in the level of construction activity in the UK.

Going the other way, house builder Berkeley was in the green as it said first-quarter market conditions in London and the South East had remained robust, although Brexit worries and high transaction costs were constraining the wider market. Shares of Barratt Developments also rose.

Mining engineer Weir Group rallied after saying it had won a £100m order to provide crushing and pump equipment to the Iron Bridge magnetite project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Emerging market asset manager Ashmore ticked higher as it reported a rise in full-year profit and earnings thanks to growth in assets under management, while shares of pub group Greene King were flat as it reported a dip in first-quarter like-for-like sales.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,266.28 -0.07%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,663.59 0.07%
techMARK (TASX) 3,845.30 0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 620.00p 2.11%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,952.00p 2.04%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 198.70p 1.12%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,550.00p 1.11%
ITV (ITV) 122.45p 1.03%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 462.00p 1.01%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,786.00p 0.98%
Experian (EXPN) 2,609.00p 0.89%
British Land Company (BLND) 526.40p 0.88%
Carnival (CCL) 3,503.00p 0.86%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,040.00p -2.09%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 793.60p -1.76%
Fresnillo (FRES) 711.20p -1.63%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 188.40p -1.08%
Evraz (EVR) 497.40p -0.96%
Prudential (PRU) 1,410.50p -0.88%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,046.00p -0.78%
Diageo (DGE) 3,462.00p -0.77%
SSE (SSE) 1,159.50p -0.77%
National Grid (NG.) 838.80p -0.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vivo Energy (VVO) 128.22p 3.91%
Redrow (RDW) 600.79p 2.52%
National Express Group (NEX) 444.20p 2.49%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 425.10p 2.24%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 280.00p 2.19%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 248.00p 2.06%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 531.40p 1.84%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,170.00p 1.74%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 212.20p 1.73%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 138.70p 1.61%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

SIG (SHI) 122.03p -5.48%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 193.00p -3.02%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 382.40p -2.85%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 303.60p -2.63%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 213.60p -2.47%
Senior (SNR) 199.14p -2.19%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 2,055.00p -1.91%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 414.39p -1.59%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,311.00p -1.50%
Coats Group (COA) 71.44p -1.25%