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Stocks in London climbed up on Thursday morning after numbers pointed to a weakening jobs market, though there were some green shoots, while the dollar rose on less uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve chair. The FTSE 100 index traded up 36.88 points, 0.4%, at 8,963.43. The FTSE 250 was up 63.28 points, 0.3%, at 21,665.14, and the AIM All-Share faded just 0.05 of a point at 772.05. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 893.81, the Cboe UK 250 was also up 0.2% at 19,083.24, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 17,540.21. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris shot up 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 1.3% higher. The UK jobless rate increased in May, average weekly earnings eased and the number of job vacancies fell, in another sign that the labour market is cooling, data on Thursday showed. According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK jobless rate picked up to 4.7% in the three months to May, from 4.6% in the period to April. It had been expected to remain at 4.6%, according to consensus cited by FXStreet. Average weekly earnings in the three months to May cooled to 5.0% on-year from 5.4% in the three months to April. Excluding bonuses, average regular pay growth cooled to 5.0% from 5.3%. Payrolled employees shrunk by 25,000 in May from April, and by 135,000 on year. The early estimate for June showed it decreased by 178,000 on-year and by 41,000 on-month. In addition, the ONS said: ‘The estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell by 56,000 on the quarter, to 727,000, in April to June 2025. This is the 36th consecutive period where vacancy numbers have dropped compared with the previous three months, with vacancies decreasing in 14 of the 18 industry sectors. Feedback from our vacancy survey suggests some firms may not be recruiting new workers, or replacing workers who have left.’ However, the data was ‘less alarming’ than it could have been, Dutch bank ING said. Regular pay growth topped the FXStreet cited consensus of a 4.9% rise, while the payroll data for May was upwardly revised from an initial estimate of a 109,000 fall on-month. ‘A sizeable upward revision to May’s payroll data, combined with yesterday’s hotter-than-expected inflation data, takes some of the pressure off the Bank of England to cut rates more quickly. We expect cuts in August and November,’ analysts at ING commented. Thursday’s global economic calendar has eurozone consumer price index print at 1000 and US initial jobless claims figures at 1330. Sterling faded to $1.3391 on Thursday morning UK time, from $1.3473 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. It had traded at $1.3395 before the release of UK data on Thursday morning. The euro declined to $1.1594 from $1.1708, while against the yen, the dollar perked up to JP¥148.65 from JP¥147.97. Chatter about the future of the Federal Reserve chair had hurt the dollar on Wednesday, but some clarity over the position of Jerome Powell then came. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was not currently planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Powell, but added he was not ruling it out. Asked about whether he would eject Powell, Trump said he is ‘doing a lousy job but no, I’m not talking about that.’ ‘I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely,’ he added. Trump noted that he would in any case be able to make a change at the top of the Fed when Powell’s term ends next year. ‘It was the kind of headline that makes traders spill their espressoTrump’s rumoured firing of Powell, Fed Chair and custodian of the Eccles temple, ripped through the tape like a rogue algorithm. For one frantic hour, the market went full ’what-if’, trying to digest a scenario that’s been lurking like a tail-risk option in the drawerrarely exercised, but always with teeth,’ SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented. ‘EUR/USD popped over 1.1700 as if someone had uncorked the volatility bottle, a sharp reaction for something that never even happened. The two-year yield tanked, the curve steepened, and macro desks dusted off those old ’what if Powell quits’ playbooks they’d filed under ’implausible but possible’. And thensnapTrump yanked the pin back in, telling the world it was ’unlikely’. Markets promptly hit reverse, giving back most of the gains as if the whole thing had been a dress rehearsal for an opera that may never premiere.’ The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was at 4.48%, where it stood at the time of the European equities close on Wednesday. The 30-year yield shrunk to 5.04% from 5.06%. In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%. In London, easyJet shares fell 6.7%, as the budget carrier said its annual outlook ‘remains positive’, though clouded by industrial action in France and recent higher fuel costs. In the third quarter to June 30, headline pretax profit rose 21% to £286 million from £236 million. Revenue improved 11% to £2.92 billion, with easyJet reporting it was aided by the later timing of Easter this year. Easter was in April this time, falling within its third quarter, having landed in March the prior year. The airline said: ‘The outlook for FY25 remains positive, with good profit growth expected year on year, albeit impacted by recent higher fuel costs and the scale of industrial action by French air traffic control. With 67% of our airline’s fourth-quarter capacity sold, the final outcome for FY25 will, as always, depend on late summer bookings and the associated yields.’ Diploma rose 7.7% as the provider of technical products and services upped its annual guidance. Diploma now expects full-year organic growth of 10%, its guidance lifted from 8%. Ocado added 11%, the best FTSE 250 performer. It said group revenue improved 13% on a pro-forma basis to £674.0 million in the first half of June 1, and the grocer and warehouse technology company’s pro forma pretax profit amounted to £607.3 million, swinging from a £144.2 million loss. Ocado since April has no longer consolidated the Ocado Retail joint-venture’s earnings, instead accounting for it ‘as an associate using the equity method’. The JV is operated alongside Marks & Spencer. They own 50% each. The pro-forma figures present results as if ‘Ocado Retail had been equity accounted for the entirety of the relevant financial period’, it explains. ‘As a consequence of the accounting change, Ocado recognised a valuation of £750.0 million for its 50% share of Ocado Retail¼s equity and an accounting gain of £782.6 million,’ Ocado added. From continuing operations, Ocado’s pretax loss stretched to £173.1 million from £139.7 million. Elsewhere in London, MyHealthChecked rose by a third as it reported a deal with UK retailer Boots. It will supply a range of lateral flow self-tests and laboratory tests under the Boots brand. ‘The contract, with an initial term of 12 months, covers a range comprising eight blood tests, one DNA test, and four lateral flow self-tests, which will be launched by Boots in August 2025,’ MyHealthChecked says. In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%, while the Hang Seng Index was down slightly in late trade. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.9% higher in late trade. A barrel of Brent rose to $68.33 early Thursday, from $67.87 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. Gold declined to $3,329.27 an ounce from $3,371.80. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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