London close: Markets cement gains after strong US jobs data

The FTSE 100 registered its highest closing price in over five years on Friday after a key indicator of the US labour market smashed expectations.

However, the figures failed to give stocks a boost in afternoon trade as investors pondered whether the data is strong enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to scale back its current stimulus measures.

Non-farms payrolls impress

Non-farm payrolls increased by a whopping 236,000 last month, well ahead of the 160,000 increase forecasted. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in January.

London's FTSE 100, which was already trading firmly in positive territory, held on to gains after the data. Though, after the index's 10% rise year to date, it's not surprising that the better-than-expected data wasn't met with a more bullish reaction as it is already trading at levels not seen since before the financial crisis at the end of 2007.

"The US appears to be well on the road to recovery, however investors aren't quite as pleased about this as the general public may be," said Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.



"This was highlighted perfectly following the release of the jobs report this afternoon, which despite appearing positive, stoked a negative reaction in stocks. This is where the problems associated with the Fed's QE3 programme begin to surface, as the prospect of the Fed scaling back on purchases, due to an improvement in the economic data, pushes traders out of stocks and back towards safe haven assets."

Chinese data provides a lift

Supporting stocks early on was economic data from China, which sparked hopes that global demand may be recovering.

China reported a 21.8% jump in exports in February, well above the 10.1% rise expected, following the strong figures the month before. Imports however missed forecasts, registering their largest drop in the last 13 months.

FTSE 100: Financials lead the way

Increasing risk appetite benefitted financial stocks today, with insurance group Aviva among the best performers, rebounded slightly after its sharp falls yesterday. Shares sunk yesterday as the company slashed its dividend for 2012 after swinging into the red as it took a £3.3bn write-down on a disposal in the US.

Asset management firm Schroders gained after UBS upgraded its rating for the stock from 'sell' to 'neutral' and lifted its target price from 1,700p to 2,050p following yesterday's full-year results. The broker upped its forecasts for 2013 and 2014, saying that most of the headwinds that it saw three to six months ago are "reducing materially".

Banks were also performing well with HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and Standard Chartered all trading firmly in the blue. HSBC was given a boost by Nomura which retained its 'buy' rating following the bank's full-year results earlier this week. The broker highlighted the company's strong cost-control momentum, improving revenue outlook and decent capital position.

Meanwhile, telecoms group Vodafone was higher after its New Zealand arm won a 10-year communications deal with the police, providing them will customised mobile services and smartphones.

Shares in British Gas owner Centrica were under pressure on Friday after JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded its rating on the stock from 'overweight' to 'neutral'. While the broker still sees Centrica as its top pick in the UK utilities sector, it has lowered its recommendation given the shares' re-rating over the last year. It has also removed the stock from its 'Analyst Focus List'.





FTSE 100 - Risers

Evraz (EVR) 267.50p +5.61%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 184.35p +3.22%

Aviva (AV.) 324.80p +3.18%

Barclays (BARC) 318.60p +2.94%

BAE Systems (BA.) 367.10p +2.83%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 737.00p +2.62%

Standard Life (SL.) 381.10p +2.17%

Schroders (SDR) 2,128.00p +2.01%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 246.20p +1.95%

Wolseley (WOS) 3,281.00p +1.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Aggreko (AGK) 1,879.00p -3.09%

Kazakhmys (KAZ) 532.50p -2.65%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,079.00p -2.26%

Meggitt (MGGT) 480.00p -2.06%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 711.50p -2.00%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,479.00p -1.53%

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,445.00p -1.27%

Shire Plc (SHP) 2,054.00p -1.25%

Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 430.10p -1.22%

Centrica (CNA) 352.10p -1.10%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bumi (BUMI) 347.00p +7.10%

New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 256.60p +6.47%

Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 521.50p +6.21%

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 219.70p +4.27%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 360.20p +3.71%

Henderson Group (HGG) 169.10p +3.36%

Halma (HLMA) 514.00p +3.30%

Centamin (DI) (CEY) 53.75p +3.27%

Lonmin (LMI) 336.90p +2.90%

St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 257.00p +2.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Kenmare Resources (KMR) 32.43p -3.54%

Smith (DS) (SMDS) 224.10p -3.15%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 503.00p -2.61%

Telecity Group (TCY) 906.00p -2.32%

Anite (AIE) 155.00p -2.21%

African Barrick Gold (ABG) 232.80p -2.18%

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 727.00p -2.15%

PayPoint (PAY) 847.00p -1.97%

Big Yellow Group (BYG) 379.00p -1.86%

Aveva Group (AVV) 2,274.00p -1.81%