\n\tFTSE 100 up\u00a033\u00a0points to 10,901
\n\tWall Street headed for the green
\n\tBrent crude tops $82\/bbl
\n\tMiners rise on higher metals prices
\n\tFresnillo jumps 5%
<\/p>\n
5.30pm: Closing in on 11,000<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 continued to advance towards 11,000 on Friday, finishing the day up\u00a033 points at 10,901.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lackluster economic backdrop has not thwarted UK stock indices from reaching fresh record highs in recent days. The FSTE 100 made an intra-day record on July 31st, while the FTSE 250 reached a new record high on August 6th,\u201d XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FTSE 100 was one of the weaker indices this week, rising only 0.2%, but it is higher by more than 2% in the past month, and by 6% in the last 3 months, suggesting that an uninspiring economic backdrop is not impacting interest in UK shares.\u201d<\/p>\n
3.52pm: Footsie slips off session highs as Wall Street shrugs off jobs shock<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 has drifted off its session highs on thin volumes as traders prepared to head off for the weekend. The main culprits were natural resources stocks, with miners and oilers leading the losers’ list.<\/p>\n
Wall Street took a rather different view of the July jobs report, with all three major benchmarks higher and the Nasdaq leading the way, up 1%.<\/p>\n
The economy shed 23,000 positions last month, the Labor Department said, though the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1%.<\/p>\n
Economists had pencilled in a gain of 80,000, building on June’s revised 20,000.<\/p>\n
Leisure and hospitality lost 40,000 roles as the World Cup wound down, local government shed 57,000 and retailers cut too.<\/p>\n
May was revised sharply lower, to 63,000 from 129,000.<\/p>\n
The jobless rate fell for unhelpful reasons, with participation down to 61.4% as more than 260,000 people left the workforce entirely.<\/p>\n
Average hourly earnings rose 3.2% year on year, which is unlikely to keep pace with prices.<\/p>\n
2.42pm: UBS says Sell WPP<\/p>\n
UBS has kept its ‘sell’ rating on WPP\u00a0and told clients it is too early to declare the advertising group’s turnaround a success, providing a\u00a0reality check following the ad giant’s interims on Thursday, which propelled shares 25% higher.<\/p>\n
The Swiss bank raised its target price to 250p from 210p, which is\u00a0still well below the current price of 394.6p.<\/p>\n
Analyst Jo Barnet-Lamb described the first-half figures as encouraging but said execution risk around the strategic plan remains.<\/p>\n
Second-quarter organic growth, which strips out acquisitions and currency moves, came in at minus 2.8%, beating consensus by around 320 basis points and improving sharply on the 6.7% decline in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
Roughly 100 basis points of that came from one-offs and easier comparisons, implying an underlying rate closer to minus 3.8%.<\/p>\n
UBS has lifted its full-year organic growth forecast to minus 4%, from minus 6%.<\/p>\n
12.55pm: Footsie gathers momentum before the US open<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 pushed 80 points higher, gaining momentum ahead of the US open.<\/p>\n
Wall Street looks set to join in, with the S&P 500 indicated up 0.2% and the Nasdaq-100 up 0.5%, though Dow futures were flat.<\/p>\n
All of which is a warm-up act for the month’s biggest number, the July US jobs report, due at 1.30pm London time.<\/p>\n
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect 80,000 positions were added last month, with unemployment parked at 4.2%.<\/p>\n
Not thrilling, but the American labour market has been quietly stable while everyone shouted about inflation and artificial intelligence spending.<\/p>\n
The Federal Reserve will be reading closely as it weighs its next move on interest rates.<\/p>\n
Oil, meanwhile, kept climbing, because Washington and Tehran still have not shaken hands.<\/p>\n
An Iranian semi-official news agency reported explosions in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday night, blamed on intercepting “hostile targets”.<\/p>\n
Iran and Oman are still working towards reopening the waterway, though the latest word is that US and Israeli ships need not apply.<\/p>\n
The New York Fed’s one-year inflation expectations survey is the other release to watch.<\/p>\n
Earnings are thin: Vistra, Oklo, Under Armour and Wendy’s.<\/p>\n
11.49am: Grocers feel pinch<\/p>\n
Shares in J Sainsbury and T<\/a>esco nudged lower in late\u00a0morning trading after figures showed the heatwave continued to weigh on shopper numbers in July.<\/p>\n Total UK footfall fell 2.1% on a year earlier, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic, which tracks visitor numbers to retail locations.<\/p>\n That was an improvement on the 3.4% drop recorded in June.<\/p>\n High streets took the heaviest hit, with footfall down 3.8% year on year, against a 6.2% fall the previous month.<\/p>\n Shopping centre footfall was down 1.4%, compared with a 2.5% drop in June.<\/p>\n England recorded the weakest performance of any UK nation, with an overall decline of 3%.<\/p>\n London fared worst, down 5.3%, underlining the difficulties facing large urban centres during periods of extreme heat.<\/p>\n 10.55am: Fresnillo shines<\/p>\n Precious metals miner\u00a0Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES)<\/a>\u00a0continues to lead the charge on the London market this morning, jumping 5.4% on a close to 2% improvement in the gold price to $4,318.77 an ounce, while silver is over 5% higher at $64.64.\u00a0Fellow gold miner Endeavour is up 1.9%.<\/p>\n That’s helped lift the FTSE 100 51 points higher to\u00a010,919.35, a gain of close to half a percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oil remains elevated, too, at around $82 a barrel, reviving fears about inflationary pressures, commented\u00a0AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.<\/p>\n \u201cDraft terms in an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman hinted at Tehran\u2019s leverage in the region \u2013 with mooted bans for US and Israeli shipping likely to do little to calm tensions,” Mould said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “All eyes will be on the latest US jobs report later,” he added.\u00a0\u201cA higher-than-expected number might prompt concerns about the economy overheating while a lower than anticipated reading could shift worries towards the potential for a downturn in the world\u2019s largest economy.\u201d<\/p>\n 9.55am: More market movers<\/p>\n Goodwin PLC (LSE:GDWN)<\/a> shares surged 13% to 21,250p after the engineering group confirmed it is exploring the sale of a substantial part of its mechanical engineering division. The strategic review aims to maximise shareholder value, with Rothschild advising the process, although the company stressed there is no certainty a transaction will be completed. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n Genel Energy PLC (LSE:GENL, FRA:4VL, OTC:GEGYY)<\/a>\u00a0shares climbed 13% to 56.6p after rejecting a \u00a3202 million takeover approach from Norwegian rival DNO. DNO has now gone public with its 69p-a-share cash offer, saying it remains open to talks and arguing the deal would create a larger regional producer while giving investors an immediate premium. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n Oxford BioMedica PLC (LSE:OXB)<\/a>\u00a0shares tumbled 19% to 479p after the cell and gene therapy group cut its 2026 guidance, with EBITDA expectations slashed by around half. The downgrade reflects delayed client programmes, procurement changes and a slower-than-expected integration of its North Carolina site, although brokers maintained their buy ratings. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n 9am: Marking time\u00a0<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 is holding onto most of its early gains, now up 18 points at 10,886.01, lifted by a pop in the gold price which boosted Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo, while AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN, NASDAQ:AZN)<\/a>\u00a0has recovered some recent losses as the risk of a merger with Bristol-Myers Squibb of the US receded. Housebuilders are lagging\u00a0despite a solid update from Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN)<\/a>\u00a0yesterday, while International Consolidated Airlines has slipped on the rising oil price.<\/p>\n Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said investors are largely keeping\u00a0their powder dry amid the usual contradictory noises from parties involved in the Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n Attention now turns to US non-farm payrolls, with forecasts pointing to 80,000 jobs added in July, up from 57,000 in June, though Hunter noted the range of estimates is unusually wide. With inflation concerns lingering, wage growth and unemployment data could prove market-moving, given markets are split roughly evenly between a September rate hike and no change from the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n Oil is still trading around $83 a barrel, with Hunter noting scepticism around reports of a possible Strait of Hormuz resolution given the “many false dawns” seen in recent months, while separate reports of a proposed ban on US and Israeli vessels risk further destabilisation.<\/p>\n 8.15am: FTSE 100 defies market nerves<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 is off to a positive start, despite market concerns around Iran’s position on the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent oil prices higher, with the focus now on US payroll data out this afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n About 15 minutes into Friday’s session, the blue-chip index is up 30 points at\u00a010,897.58.<\/p>\n Precious metals company\u00a0Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES)<\/a>\u00a0is top of the leaderboard with a 3% jump, buoyed by higher gold and silver prices.\u00a0Metlen Energy & Metals PLC (LSE:MTLN)<\/a>\u00a0has gained 1.9% and\u00a0Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF, FRA:6E2)<\/a>\u00a0is up 0.9%.<\/p>\n Brent crude’s move above $83 a barrel has boosted\u00a0BP PLC (LSE:BP.)<\/a>\u00a00.9% in early trade, while\u00a0JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD., OTC:JDSPY)<\/a>\u00a0is also 0.9% higher after announcing the appointment of former IKEA Group president and CEO Peter Agnefj\u00e4ll as chair of the board with effect from 1 September 2026.<\/p>\n Among the morning’s decliners,\u00a0Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO)<\/a>\u00a0has slipped 1.6%,\u00a0Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN)<\/a>\u00a0is down 1.1% and\u00a0International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG)<\/a>\u00a0is 1% lower, perhaps on the rising oil price.\u00a0<\/p>\n FTSE 100 Live: Markets on edge ahead of open<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 is expected to edge lower as the week draws to a close, with conditions attached to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and July’s US payrolls data keeping investors on the sidelines.<\/p>\n London’s blue-chip index has been called seven points down on the futures market, after finishing Thursday’s session 20 points weaker at 10,867.<\/p>\n Brent crude’s rise back above $80 a barrel weighed on US stocks overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulling back from its record high as higher Treasury yields also dampened sentiment. The Dow fell 0.9%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq edged 0.1% lower.<\/p>\n Energy markets were the key focus after oil rebounded sharply, with Brent climbing roughly 3.5% as investors watched developments around the Strait of Hormuz reopening, stoking concerns over global supply. Having traded at $79.50 a barrel this time yesterday, Brent has jumped to $83.82 this morning.<\/p>\n Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said markets have “edged a bit more nervously into the end of the week” after preliminary details of a finalised Iran-Oman deal to reopen the Strait emerged. According to Fars News Agency, the terms include a permitting and licensing framework and a ban on US and Israeli vessels transiting the Strait.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the deal’s terms, Reid explained that US and Israeli vessels –\u00a0and cargo linked to Israel –\u00a0would be barred from transiting, while countries deemed to have damaged Iran would be refused permits until compensation is paid, with violators facing penalties of up to 20% of cargo value. “So this seems to be Iran setting the terms,” he said. Reuters reported separately that Iran is seeking fees of 5-7% of cargo value for ships transiting Hormuz, with Oman discussing 3%,\u00a0both above the ad hoc payments Iran reportedly received in spring. Reid flagged the open question of whether such terms would be acceptable to Washington, though President Donald Trump’s limited comments overnight avoided escalation, saying things are “moving along good.”<\/p>\n On today’s main event, Reid said it’s “another payrolls Friday,” with Deutsche Bank economists expecting a slight uptick in headline (+65k, vs +57k previously) and private (+65k, vs +49k) payrolls –\u00a0both below consensus estimates of 80k. They expect unemployment to hold at 4.2% on a rounded basis, though Reid flagged a risk of a tick up to 4.3% given last month’s reading was accompanied by a fall in labour force participation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FTSE 100 up\u00a033\u00a0points to 10,901
Wall Street headed for the green
Brent crude tops $82\/bbl
Miners rise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-731197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}