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Stocks were higher on Friday afternoon as investors await US unemployment numbers for August, meanwhile Angela Rayner quits as deputy prime minister of the UK and as deputy leader of the Labour Party. The FTSE 100 index was up 21.94 points, 0.2%, at 9,238.81. The FTSE 250 was up 58.36 points, 0.3%, at 21,533.04, and the AIM All-Share was up 5.31 points, 0.7%, at 767.31. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 926.41, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 18,840.94, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,071.29. Angela Rayner will resign as UK deputy prime minister, leave the government and resign as deputy leader of the Labour Party, news broke around noon on Friday. Further, UK Investment Minister Baroness Poppy Gustafsson is preparing to leave her role less than a year after being appointed, Sky News reported on Friday, citing City Editor Mark Kleinman. A formal announcement could come as soon as Friday, the report said. Her departure comes as the government continues efforts to attract more overseas investment into the UK, Sky noted. Rachel Reeves will remain in place as chancellor, Sky News reported. In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was slightly higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt advanced 0.2%. ‘Equity markets were quiet at the end of the week, albeit there is still a chance for a last-minute wobble if US jobs data delivers a shock,’ said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould. ‘Non-farm payrolls are expected to have grown by 75,000 in August, slightly above July’s 73,000 figure. Investors are looking to see if the jobs market is hot or cold, as that will play a key role in the Fed’s decision making on interest rates. Hot gives the Fed less reason to cut, cold does the opposite. ‘Constant movement regarding tariffs in recent months have been a nightmare for businesses trying to plan for their future. Ongoing uncertainty has the potential to put a freeze on hiring, thereby depressing the labour market.’ The pound was quoted up at $1.3484 at midday on Friday in London, compared to $1.3432 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro stood higher at $1.1694, against $1.1641. Against the yen, the dollar was trading down at JP¥148.09 compared to JP¥148.74. Adnams was down 27% around midday in London. The Southwold, Suffolk-based brewer, hotelier and wine seller posted a 5.7% drop in revenue to £0.1 million in the six months that ended June 30, from £31.9 million the previous year. Pretax loss narrowed to £1.5 million from £2.6 million. Adnams attributed this to a downward trend in both the on- and off-trade markets of the pub sector, and noted a £1.2 million exceptional cost resulting from regulations which require producers to cover recycling costs. Still, the company said that on-trade business was ‘stable against a very challenging backdrop where many free-trade pubs are struggling to stay in business.’ On the FTSE 250, PPHE Hotel rose 1.8%. The Amsterdam-based operator of Park Plaza and Art’otel hotels, among other brands, completed the acquisition of a development site near the City of London for £17.5 million. It bought the site via a subsidiary of its European Hospitality Fund. The development is due to open in 2029, and will feature a Radisson RED lifestyle hotel with at least 182 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and gym, and 41,000 square feet of office space. PPHE said it expects an all-in investment of around £90 million for the project, including the site acquisition price. Metals One gained 7.0%. The metals exploration and development company acquired a strategic stake in Evolution Energy Minerals Ltd, which owns the Chilalo graphite project in Tanzania. Metals One bought 37.9 million Evolution shares from Marvel Gold Ltd at 1.10 Australian cents each, for a total consideration of A$416,900 and an initial 10.45% stake in Evolution. Metals One will underwrite a portion of Evolution’s rights issue at 1 cent per share for up to A$530,000 of the total A$1.5 million rights issue. Following both the underwriting and the share purchase, Metals One will hold up to around a 17.4% interest in Evolution. Stocks in New York were called mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.5% higher. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.16%, narrowing from 4.20%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.86%, trimmed from 4.90%. Beijing said Friday it ‘strongly opposes’ calls to put economic pressure on China, after US President Donald Trump urged European countries to do so over the war in Ukraine. China has never denounced Russia’s war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine’s allies believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow. China insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine. Meanwhile, China’s commerce ministry said Friday it would impose temporary duties on EU pork imports, after an investigation found evidence of dumping. Beijing launched the probe last year during scrutiny by Brussels of Chinese state subsidies for the electric vehicle industry. ‘Investigating authorities have preliminarily determined that imports of relevant pork and pig by-products originating in the EU are being dumped,’ a statement from China’s commerce ministry said. Authorities have decided to implement ‘provisional anti-dumping measures in the form of deposits’, it added. The import duties range from 15.6% to 62.4% and will enter into force on September 10, the statement continued. The provisional measures are still subject to the commerce ministry investigation, which had already been extended until December. Brent oil was quoted lower at $66.74 a barrel at midday in London on Friday from $67.02 late Thursday. ‘Brent crude has been hit hard over the past two trading days, with fears over the US economy accompanied by expectations of another production increase from OPEC this Sunday,’ commented Rostro analyst Joshua Mahony. ‘Notably, Putin’s recent comments that he can see light at the end of the tunnel for the Russia-Ukraine war shouldn‘t raise too many hopes as he has since said that any Western forces in the region would be deemed legitimate targets for his military. Whether that remains the case after a peace deal remains to be seen, but the Russian stance that Ukraine must be neutral after the war would stand in stark contrast to the European view that there should be a global Western coalition of military protecting Ukraine after the conflict ends.’ Gold was quoted up at $3,551.05 an ounce against $3,543.56. Still to come on Friday’s economic calendar, US nonfarm payrolls figures at 1330 BST. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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