London midday: Stocks edge up as investors eye payrolls
London stocks had edged higher by midday on Friday but gains were muted as investors eyed the release of the US non-farm payrolls report.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,175.75.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Investors are keeping their nerve ahead of the non-farm payrolls report, with both the S&P500 and the Nasdaq hitting fresh record closing highs.
"The consensus is for 750000 jobs to have been added in August, as against the much better than expected number of 943000 reported in July.
"Such a figure would probably be enough to keep a lid on concerns of overheating, and would leave the level of employment around 5 million lower than the February 2020 peak. The lower figure for August is expected to have resulted from a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, which has crimped job growth as some remain unwilling to return to work in the face of the variant, and as some generous unemployment benefits persist.
"At the same time, the shortage of raw materials which has been blocking the supply chain globally has also had an impact, with the likes of the motor sector hit by a shortage of semiconductors, and making general restocking more difficult.
"Even so, a non-farms reading which confirms steady, rather than rapid economic expansion is likely to ease the pressure on the Federal Reserve to taper and at the same time vindicate its current views on the immediate outlook."
The payrolls report is due out at 1330 BST, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings.
On home shores, a survey out earlier showed growth in the services sector eased in August to its slowest pace since March amid supply chain and staff issues.
The IHS Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index fell to 55.5 from 59.6 in July and a record high of 62.9 in May. A reading above 50.0 signals expansion, while a reading below indicates contraction.
The survey found that capacity constraints encouraged additional staff recruitment, with the rate of job creation in August surging higher than the previous record in June 2014.
The composite index, which measures activity in services and manufacturing, declined to 54.8 in August from 59.2 in July.
In equity markets, GKN owner Melrose was a high riser for the second day in a row after well-received results on Thursday.
Discoverie was the standout gainer on the FTSE 250 after it raised £55m in a placing to fund two acquisitions.
Berkeley Group was little changed after saying it was experiencing construction cost inflation and "mindful of ongoing supply chain and labour market issues due to Brexit and the pandemic". The housebuilder maintained full-year guidance of pre-tax profit at or above last year’s £518m for the 12 months to April 30, 2022.
Emerging markets asset manager Ashmore fell despite posting a jump in full-year assets under management as it benefited from a positive investment performance as economic activity picks up. In the year to the end of June 2021, AuM rose 13% to $94.4bn, with an investment performance of $9.6bn and net inflows of $1.2bn.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,175.75 0.17%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,262.01 0.15%
techMARK (TASX) 4,868.08 0.23%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 189.20p 2.69%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,721.00p 2.34%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 1,046.00p 1.26%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,133.00p 1.23%
Fresnillo (FRES) 843.40p 1.22%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,008.50p 1.20%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,564.00p 1.20%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 279.80p 1.16%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,678.00p 1.11%
Aviva (AV.) 415.40p 0.90%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,034.00p -2.68%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,894.00p -1.61%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,614.00p -1.43%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 635.80p -0.93%
Informa (INF) 553.60p -0.93%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,776.00p -0.93%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,500.00p -0.92%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 113.26p -0.86%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,225.00p -0.83%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,643.00p -0.75%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 1,174.00p 14.20%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 156.40p 6.11%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 868.50p 3.27%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 374.40p 3.08%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,970.00p 2.41%
Grainger (GRI) 333.60p 2.33%
NCC Group (NCC) 336.00p 2.13%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,010.00p 2.02%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 417.00p 1.96%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,975.00p 1.92%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 374.40p -5.17%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 379.40p -3.51%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 294.50p -3.44%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 5,110.00p -3.22%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,527.00p -2.77%
Sanne Group (SNN) 912.00p -2.04%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 246.10p -1.99%
Genuit Group (GEN) 767.00p -1.67%
Investec (INVP) 293.70p -1.64%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 389.00p -1.62%