London close: Stocks lower following US jobs report

UK stocks declined on Friday after hitting an intraday 14-year high the previous session, following the release of weaker than expected yet highly-anticipated monthly report on US non-farm payrolls.

London's FTSE 100 ended the day down by 0.33% lower at 6,855 after five straight days of gains.

The Footsie edged higher on Thursday to close at 6,877.97, its highest finish since 14 May when it settled at 6,878.49. Nevertheless, during the session the index reached a high of 6,904.86, its highest intraday level since the record 6,950.60 set in late December 1999.

Driving gains across Europe the day before was the surprise announcement by the European Central Bank (ECB) that policymakers had voted to cut interest rates in response to recent weak economic data. The ECB also unveiled plans to buy asset-backed securities and covered bond purchases to help ease credit conditions across the single-currency region.

US non-farm payrolls increased by 142,000 in August, the smallest amount since December 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The consensus estimate had been for an increase of 220,000.

Commenting on the above numbers, Paul Ashworth at Capital Economics told clients that he was not too concerned “by what is probably just an isolated blip”, particularly as other indicators suggest that labour market conditions are still strengthening and the latest round of survey evidence indicates that economic activity is soaring.

Optimism surrounding the ceasefire in Ukraine was tempered by reports that the rebels wish to remain separate from the rest of the country.

Mining stocks fall

Precious metal mining stocks bore the brunt of the profit taking with Randgold Resources, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto among the worst performers on the FTSE 100.

Insurer Standard Life was pulling back after strong gains made on Thursday. The shares jumped 8% after the company sold its Canadian operations for £2.2bn to Manulife Financial and promised to return £1.75bn to shareholders.

In contrast, BP attempted to rebound after a 6% slump the previous sesssion after a US judge found that the oil major was "grossly negligent" and "reckless" in the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010.

Oil and gas group Tullow Oil fell slightly on the news that it is to sell its interests in two blocks offshore Netherlands for €62.7m (£50m) as it continues to shed off its gas assets in the North Sea.

Stock in RBS initially rose after Berenberg hiked its target price for the stock from 210p to 250p. However, gains were quickly erased after the broker repeated its 'sell' rating on the stock, saying that the "shares are expensive considering the legacy risks and the negative impact of the restructuring plan has yet to fully take effect".

techMARK 2,856.20 -0.40%

FTSE 100 6,855.10 -0.33%
FTSE 250 15,924.59 -0.45%

FTSE 100 - Risers
BP (BP.) 466.80p +2.59%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,061.00p +1.14%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,065.00p +1.04%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,995.00p +0.76%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,492.00p +0.74%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 470.00p +0.69%
Carnival (CCL) 2,374.00p +0.68%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,024.00p +0.59%
National Grid (NG.) 916.00p +0.55%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 729.00p +0.55%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 868.00p -4.56%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,737.00p -4.11%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,416.00p -3.61%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 347.00p -2.23%
Capita (CPI) 1,190.00p -2.22%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,040.00p -2.16%
Royal Mail (RMG) 425.60p -2.03%
Barclays (BARC) 226.25p -1.95%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,564.50p -1.82%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 956.50p -1.75%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Computacenter (CCC) 645.50p +3.53%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,583.00p +3.44%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,314.00p +3.30%
Xaar (XAR) 430.10p +2.97%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 169.10p +2.86%
Poundland Group (PLND) 323.50p +2.15%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 95.45p +1.49%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,133.00p +1.34%
Marston's (MARS) 151.00p +1.34%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 657.00p +1.31%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 230.00p -4.41%
DCC (DCC) 3,544.00p -3.77%
National Express Group (NEX) 250.70p -3.35%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,006.00p -2.71%
Polymetal International (POLY) 519.00p -2.54%
ICAP (IAP) 368.50p -2.33%
AO World (AO.) 214.70p -2.28%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 430.00p -2.16%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,115.00p -2.11%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,376.00p -2.06%