Stocks rise after release of US non-farm payrolls figures

Stock prices in London closed higher on Friday as investors digested the latest US jobs data ahead of a busy week of interest rate decisions.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 40.75 points, or 0.5%, at 7,554.47. The FTSE 250 index finished up 83.25 points, or 0.5 percent, at 18,701.99 points, and the AIM All-Share index closed up 2.59 points, or 0.4 %, at 723.45 points. Over the week, shares rose 0.3%, 1.6% and 1.1%.

The Cboe UK 100 finished up 0.5% at 754.03, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 16212.63, and the Cboe Small Companies finished up 0.6%. at 14,003.69.

In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 1.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt closed up 0.8%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said nonfarm payrolls rose by 199,000, surpassing the market consensus cited by FXStreet of 180,000. The figure was also higher than the October reading of 150,000.

Job gains were seen in the health care and government sectors, the BLS noted.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.7%, going against analysts who predicted that it would remain unchanged compared to the previous month (3.9%).

“Wage gains were boosted by the return of strikers in November, but the underlying pace of job growth has slowed in recent months. That’s encouraging for the Fed, which has likely ruled out further increases in “However, the details in the rest of the report are strong enough, in our view, that rate cuts will not be considered for several months,” said Nancy Houten, an economist at Oxford Economics.

Friday’s nonfarm data follows a report from payroll services provider ADP on Wednesday.

ADP said private sector employment increased by 103,000 positions in November, a slowdown from October’s increase of 113,000 positions. This figure is lower than the consensus of 130,000 established by FXStreet.

Following this reading, stocks in New York were higher at the London close, with the DJIA down and the S&P 500 both up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%. %.

The dollar was also supported after the reading.

The pound was quoted at $1.2535 at the close of London stock markets on Friday, down from $1.2580 at Thursday’s close. The euro was at USD 1.0758 as European markets closed on Friday, down from USD 1.0791 at the same time on Thursday.

Next Wednesday, investors will be watching for the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will make their own decisions on Thursday.

Economically, attention has been focused on the Japanese yen.

Against the yen, the dollar traded at 144.51 yen, up from 144.07 yen late Thursday.

The Japanese currency held on to recent gains after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said that managing monetary policy “will become even more difficult from the end of the year until the end of the year.” next year,” Bloomberg News reported. The dollar had exceeded 147 yen at the start of the week.

“Yesterday was finally the day that most currency traders had been waiting for at least a year: the day when the Bank of Japan hinted that it would finally end its negative interest rate policy,” commented Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote Bank.

In the FTSE 100, Anglo American fell 19%.

The London-based mining company said it has already reduced its business support costs by USD 500 million by mid-2024. It expects additional annual savings of USD 500 million across its global operations in 2024.

Anglo American’s cost-cutting efforts come as the mining company faces ongoing economic and geopolitical volatility, as well as cyclical weakness in the platinum group metals and diamonds.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould noted that the scale of Anglo American’s cuts may have been “a bit of a shock to the market”.

“The company also faces the challenge of growing debt and its somewhat patchy operational performance means the market may not give it much patience,” he added.

Berkeley lost 4.1%.

Turnover fell 0.8%, from £1.20 billion to £1.19 billion.

Berkeley more than doubled its interim dividend to 59 pence per share, up from 21 pence per share the previous year.

Ocado rose 2.0%, JPMorgan upgraded the stock from ‘underweight’ to ‘neutral’.

Meanwhile, in the FTSE 250, Watches of Switzerland gained 2.8% as Société Générale increased its price target.

On the London AIM, Landore Resources fell 38%.

The exploration and development company said “turbulent market conditions” globally have led to “significant” fundraising challenges, and it has therefore decided to terminate its placement private of 5 million Canadian dollars, or 2.9 million British pounds, which was to finance its dual listing on the TSX Venture Exchange.

It has therefore postponed its dual listing project until further notice and initiated a cost reduction plan in order to preserve its existing liquidity.

A barrel of Brent oil was quoted at USD 76.00 at the close of London stock markets on Friday, up from USD 74.52 at the end of the day on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $2,006.01 an ounce at the close of London Stock Exchanges on Friday, down from $2,028.77 at Thursday’s close.

In Monday’s UK business calendar are Begbies Traynor’s half-year results.

Monday’s economic calendar includes the Rightmove UK House Price Index overnight. The week will then move quickly to interest rate decisions.

This article is originally published on zonebourse.com