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London’s blue chip index made gains on Thursday, supported by retailers and insurers, as investors look to Friday’s nonfarm payroll data coming out of the US and what it might mean for rates. The FTSE 100 index closed up 38.88 points, 0.4%, at 9,216.87. The FTSE 250 ended 161.61 points higher, 0.8%, at 21,474.68 but the AIM All-Share finished down 6.47 points, 0.8%, at 762.00. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.4% at 924.50, the Cboe UK 250 closed 0.7% higher at 18,772.69 but the Cboe Small Companies fell 0.2% to 17,048.40. In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt closed 0.7% higher. ‘The FTSE 100 pushed ahead as bond markets calmed down and the focus shifted to US jobs data,’ said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.20%, narrowed from 4.22% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.90%, trimmed from 4.91%. In the UK, the yield on 10-year gilts eased to 4.73% compared to 4.76% at the same time on Wednesday. Ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, figures showed US private sector job growth slowed sharply in August. According to payroll firm ADP businesses added just 54,000 jobs amid signs of labour market cooling and persistent economic uncertainty. The figure came in well below July’s upwardly revised total of 106,000 and marked the smallest gain in five months. It also missed FXStreet-cited expectations of 65,000. Citi analyst Veronica Clark expects Friday’s nonfarm payrolls to show continued gradual weakening in the jobs market with 45,000 payrolls added and the unemployment rate rising to 4.3% with upside risk. ‘This should be soft enough to all but ensure a rate cut from the Fed in September,’ she thinks. Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management US services PMI rose to 52.0 in August from 50.1 in July, signalling the third straight month of expansion. The business activity index increased to 55.0 from 52.6, while the new orders index surged to 56.0 from 50.3. However, the employment index remained in contraction at 46.5, the third month below the breakeven 50-point mark. Analysts at TD Economics said the surge in new orders was ‘encouraging’, although the report ‘wasn’t without blemishes, with an employment index that remained in contractionary territory for the third month in a row being the main fly in the ointment.’ But with the Fed now putting more emphasis on softening labour market conditions, the subdued performance of the employment subcomponent in the report lines up with a host of other data favouring a rate cut at next month’s FOMC meeting, TD analysts added. In New York, at the time of the London equities market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, as was the Nasdaq Composite, while the S&P 500 firmed 0.4%. The pound eased to $1.3432 late on Thursday afternoon in London, compared to $1.3448 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro ebbed to $1.1641, against $1.1679. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥148.74 compared to JP¥147.95. In the UK, figures showed the UK’s construction sector remained in contraction in August, with activity falling for the eighth consecutive month, led by steep declines in the housing and civil engineering sectors. The headline S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers’ index rose to 45.5 points in August from 44.3 in July which had marked a more than five-year low but remained well below the neutral 50.0-point mark that separates growth from contraction. On the FTSE 100, insurers and asset managers which had suffered from the spike in bond yields, rallied, with Aviva up 2.5%, M&G up 1.9% and Beazley up 2.1%. Admiral bucked the trend, down 2.2% as it traded ex dividend. Retailers were a warm order, with Next up 2.3% and Tesco up 1.8%. On the FTSE 250, Asos gained 3.0%. Also on the FTSE 250, another retailer led the way as Currys shot up 17% after a triple dose of good news. The London-based electricals retailer won plaudits as it delivered strong trading, a positive pension review outcome and a larger than expected £50 million share buyback. Currys said group like-for-like sales rose 3% in the 17 weeks to August 30. UK & Ireland LFL revenue increased by 3% with ‘robust’ sales driven by market share gains and double-digit growth in new categories and business-to-business. Nordics LFL revenue rose 2% with sales growth driven by AI computing and success in new categories such as robotic lawnmowers and vacuums. Berenberg analyst Adam Tomlinson said the encouraging top-line momentum means the group sustained growth in both territories for the first time in four years. In addition, Currys said the triennial pension review had been completed with the actuarial deficit as of March 31 reduced to £134 million from £403 million as of March 31 2022. Panmure Liberum analyst Wayne Brown said the completion of the review is ‘not only earlier than expected, but it is on much better terms than we had been expecting.’ Also in the green, Basingstoke-based animal biotechnology and genetics company Genus which leapt 10% as it hailed ‘good second half momentum’ that boosted annual earnings. Pretax profit in the year ended June 30 jumped to £28.5 million from £5.5 million. Revenue was 0.6% higher at £672.8 million from £668.8 million. For the new financial year, Genus expects ‘significant growth’ in adjusted pretax profit at constant currency, in line with current market expectations, which it puts at £79.0 million. Peel Hunt lifted its price target for Genus to 3,200 pence from 3,100p, with a ’buy’ rating. The broker noted there was ‘lots to like’ about the stock, as it lifted its forecasts to match the company’s forecast. On AIM, Jet2 nosedived 13% as analysts slashed forecasts after the firm warned earnings will be at the lower end of consensus expectations, and it cut seats on sale for the coming Winter season. The Leeds-based tour operator and airline said the limited earnings visibility came as consumers leave it later to book holidays. Gold eased from recent record highs to $3,543.56 an ounce on Thursday against $3,565.82 on Wednesday. A barrel of Brent traded at $67.02 late Thursday afternoon, down from $67.62 on Wednesday. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Rightmove, up 20.60p at 737.00p, Airtel Africa, up 5.40p at 220.60p, Aviva, up 15.80p at 645.80p, Relx, up 83.00p at 3,495.00p and Auto Trader, up 18.60p at 794.60p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were easyJet, down 20.50p at 466.30p, Antofagasta, down 50.00p at 2,147.00p, Admiral Group, down 80.00p at 3,444.00p, Entain, down 16.00p at 836.40p and Endeavour Mining, down 48.00p at 2,712.00p. Friday’s local corporate calendar has a trading statement from housebuilder Berkeley Group and full year results from investment management firm Ashmore. The global economic calendar on Friday has UK retail sales figures and US nonfarm payrolls figures. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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