London open: Stocks gain ahead of payrolls report

London stocks rose in early trade on Friday, taking their cue from a positive close on Wall Street, as investors eyed the release of the latest US non-farm payrolls report.

At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 7,189.25.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Markets have regained some poise at the end of a difficult week which was marred by Omicron fears and an increasingly hawkish outlook from central banks.

"Investors switched into optimistic mode following the earlier Federal Reserve suggestion that the end of the tapering programme and therefore the beginning of interest rate hikes could come earlier than expected next year. Alongside no immediate change to its supply plans at OPEC, there is a growing feeling that future variants may not, after all, be enough to derail economic policy per se.

"The next indication on the strength of the US economy will come in the form on the non-farm payrolls figure later. After than a stronger-than-expected reading of 531,000 jobs being added in October, the expectations for the November outturn is a figure of 550,000. As ever, a stronger reading would tend to add weight to any Federal Reserve decision to accelerate tapering, while a lower figure would once more muddy the waters."

On home shores, meanwhile, investors will be watching out for the release of Markit’s services PMI for November at 0930 GMT.

In equity markets, oil giant BP rallied after an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.

Hargreaves Lansdown gained as it announced that Amy Stirling will succeed Philip Johnson as chief financial officer.

Petropavlovsk was in the black after it said the UK’s High Court had rejected a bid by its major shareholder JSC Uzhuralzoloto Group of Companies to stop the sale of a stake in iron ore subsidiary IRC.

3i Group advanced following a report it is considering the sale of French natural health products manufacturer Havea Group, which could be valued at about €1.1bn.

Home improvement retailer Wickes surged after lifting its FY2021 profit guidance to "no less than £83m" as it said it continued to perform well in the fourth quarter.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,189.25 0.84%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,825.28 0.62%
techMARK (TASX) 4,390.81 0.42%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 345.40p 2.61%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 135.72p 2.57%
Prudential (PRU) 1,296.00p 2.01%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,333.00p 1.99%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,224.00p 1.83%
3i Group (III) 1,425.00p 1.79%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 127.58p 1.71%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 221.00p 1.70%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,656.80p 1.69%
WPP (WPP) 1,075.00p 1.65%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 889.20p -0.36%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,357.00p -0.22%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,200.00p -0.14%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,718.50p -0.05%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 278.80p 0.00%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,988.00p 0.00%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,555.00p 0.00%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,388.00p 0.00%
Croda International (CRDA) 9,858.00p 0.00%
Abrdn (ABDN) 229.30p 0.00%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 51.84p 5.45%
Rotork (ROR) 361.00p 3.86%
Carnival (CCL) 1,221.20p 2.79%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,731.50p 2.15%
easyJet (EZJ) 542.60p 2.15%
Alliance Trust (ATST) 1,024.00p 1.99%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 205.20p 1.99%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,439.00p 1.95%
AJ Bell (AJB) 367.80p 1.83%
Vistry Group (VTY) 1,137.50p 1.74%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 4,805.00p -3.90%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 1,010.00p -1.94%
888 Holdings (888) 303.00p -1.43%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,745.00p -1.26%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 300.00p -1.15%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 284.00p -1.05%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 137.20p -1.01%
AO World (AO.) 94.35p -0.68%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 296.20p -0.67%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 545.50p -0.46%