London open: FTSE little changed ahead of payrolls
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Friday as investors eyed the latest US non-farm payrolls report.
At 0905 BST, the FTSE 100 was up just 0.1% at 7,524.92.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The latest update on the US economy will come later with the release of the non-farm payrolls report, which is expected to show that around 470000 jobs were added in March, as compared to 678000 in February.
"Of equal significance will be the unemployment rate, which has latterly implied tightness in a labour market approaching full employment. While this effectively frees up the Fed to concentrate on inflation, the tightness could also lead to wage rises which would be further inflationary factors of their own.
"The consumer is a vital cog in the US economy, and the choices over the following months are ones which are being echoed globally. It remains to be seen whether accumulated savings during the pandemic will be sufficient to offset the impending cost crunch created by higher energy and food prices, and how sentiment will continue to be affected by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine."
Investors were also waiting to see whether Russian president Putin will cut off Europe’s gas supplies if countries refuse to pay in roubles, as he threatened on Thursday.
Earlier, data out of China showed the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell in March as it fastest pace in two years, as a resurgence in Covid cases and the conflict in Ukraine weighed.
The index declined to 48.1 from 50.4 in March, coming in below the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion and below consensus expectations for a reading of 49.9.
The reading was in line with the official PMI released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
Pantheon Macroeconomics said the Caixin PMI "largely confirmed the message of its official counterpart, and if anything provided a bleaker depiction of China’s manufacturing sector in March". Economist Craig Botham said worse is likely to come for China’s PMIs.
"Not only do infections continue to rage, but Omicron has reportedly resurfaced in Shenzhen, suggesting the city may have been too hasty in relaxing its controls, and acting as a warning to other regions of China, which will now likely pursue existing stringent measures for longer."
In equity markets, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon were among the high risers, recovering after the housebuilding sector took a beating in the last quarter.
Bridgepoint and Lancashire Holdings were both boosted by upgrades to ‘buy’ at Citi.
Mitie was on the front foot after the outsourcer announced the acquisition of P2ML, a specialist telecoms tower design company, for £2.1m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,524.92 0.12%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,241.21 0.38%
techMARK (TASX) 4,333.46 0.12%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 133.90p 2.45%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,514.00p 1.71%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,928.00p 1.65%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,183.00p 1.49%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 622.00p 1.30%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,509.50p 1.21%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 218.50p 1.20%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,184.50p 1.15%
Next (NXT) 6,100.00p 1.13%
M&G (MNG) 223.60p 1.08%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Compass Group (CPG) 1,622.50p -1.67%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 99.65p -1.43%
Rightmove (RMV) 626.40p -1.01%
Relx plc (REL) 2,359.00p -1.01%
Halma (HLMA) 2,487.00p -0.92%
BAE Systems (BA.) 711.00p -0.89%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 1,075.00p -0.83%
Pearson (PSON) 744.40p -0.83%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,660.50p -0.81%
BP (BP.) 372.60p -0.73%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 368.60p 4.86%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 451.60p 4.54%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,229.00p 3.19%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 288.60p 3.07%
888 Holdings (888) 190.10p 3.04%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 651.00p 2.68%
Countryside Partnerships (CSP) 276.80p 2.22%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 511.00p 2.20%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 311.50p 2.13%
Carnival (CCL) 1,384.50p 2.04%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 276.00p -2.47%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 142.30p -2.47%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 659.00p -2.23%
Drax Group (DRX) 773.00p -1.65%
Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 984.00p -1.40%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 2,250.00p -1.23%
Hammerson (HMSO) 32.62p -1.21%
Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited (SEQI) 101.60p -1.17%
Chemring Group (CHG) 322.00p -1.08%
Polymetal International (POLY) 304.00p -1.07%