Sector movers: US jobs data gives cyclicals a boost

The wheels of the market turned in favour of cyclicals at the end of the week, following the release of a much stronger-than-expected reading on the state of the US jobs market.

Although economists still appeared to be somewhat divided on whether the US central bank would finally pursue another interest rate hike in September or in December - if at all - Fed funds futures were left pricing-in 47.6% odds of a move at the end of 2016.

Share price gains in Oil Equipment and Services stocks were particularly noteworthy given the backdrop of falling crude oil futures.

Construction stocks were also higher, with Ibstock and Polypipe at the top of the leaderboard in their sector, as investors continued to digest the previous day´s more aggressive than expected stimulus package from the Bank of England.

Life insurers, which are especially sensitive to shifting interest rates, alsgo got a boost from the US jobs numbers. In the case of Aviva, it might be noted that the insurer got a positive endorsement from the FT´s lex column.

The company also notified markets that its chairman had stepped-in and picked up some shares during the previous session.

In parallel, and partly in reaction to Friday´s jobs number, the spot US dollar index - a gauge of the US dollar´s value versus that of its main trading partners - gained 0.68% to 96.41.

That took the some of the shine off of precious metals miners share prices.

The likes of Randgold Resources and Fresnillo retreated, alongside a retreat in some of the more 'defensive' areas of the market such as utilities or fixed line communications.

Top performing sectors so far today
Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 13,700.15 +2.40%
Life Insurance 6,949.13 +2.00%
General Industrials 5,013.84 +1.93%
Construction & Materials 5,613.16 +1.89%
Chemicals 12,043.58 +1.84%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Industrial Metals & Mining 1,659.51 -1.11%
Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,596.08 -0.89%
Fixed Line Telecommunications 4,637.90 -0.66%
Technology Hardware & Equipment 2,013.91 -0.05%
Alternative Energy 0.00 0.00%