London close: Stocks edge higher, but uncertainty caps gains

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 rose for the second day on Friday, outperforming global stock indices, though gains were limited amid souring market sentiment towards the recent AI rally and following a strong US jobs report.

The UK blue chip index finished the day just 0.1% higher at 10,368.05, trimming gains after hitting an earlier gain of 10,415.74.

The Footsie was bucking the trend across Europe, with losses seen in Paris, Frankfurt and Milan, while Wall Street stocks dropped sharply following much stronger-than-expected US employment report, which increased bets that the Federal Reserve could deliver a rate hike before yearend.

US nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. Economists were expecting to see just 85,000 jobs being added last month.

"More than doubling monthly US job growth when compared to market expectations and a significant upward revision in the previous month's employment numbers provoked a sell-off in most European and US stock indices," said Axel Rudolph, chief technical analyst at IG.

"US Treasury yields jumped by seven basis points to a near two-week high at 4.54% after the jobs report while the US dollar appreciated to a two-month high."

Investors were also keeping a close eye on developments in the Middle East, despite a continued lack of progress towards a peace deal between the US and Iran. Brent crude was down 1.6% at $93.50 a barrel by the market close in London.

Software stocks gain, miners fall

There was little newsflow moving stocks on the top-flight index on Friday, but software-related stocks were the standout gainers, benefiting from souring sentiment over AI valuations. LSEG, Experian, Rightmove, Autotrader, Pearson and Relx all advanced.

On the downside, safety equipment firm Halma fell ahead of full-year results next week.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and miners Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta also lost ground.

On the FTSE 250, technology firm Raspberry Pi surged by almost a third after saying that interim profits were now expected to be "materially ahead" of last year, prompting an upgrade to its full-year outlook.

Meanwhile, Bodycote slumped after Apollo Management pulled out of its proposed �1.5bn offer for the UK thermal processing company. US-based Apollo submitted an all-cash bid to Bodycote two weeks ago after several approaches.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,368.05 0.07%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,060.74 -1.04%

techMARK (TASX) 6,004.85 -0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,761.00p 2.79%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,188.50p 2.71%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,384.00p 2.42%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,858.00p 2.24%

Haleon (HLN) 337.00p 2.18%

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,470.00p 2.07%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 468.70p 1.98%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,404.00p 1.94%

GSK (GSK) 1,938.00p 1.89%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,549.00p 1.88%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,986.00p -6.22%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,970.00p -5.70%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,856.00p -5.16%

Halma (HLMA) 4,664.00p -4.39%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 84.48p -3.41%

Glencore (GLEN) 590.20p -3.25%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,604.00p -3.10%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 39.58p -2.89%

Entain (ENT) 555.40p -2.80%

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,372.00p -2.71%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 1,051.00p 27.63%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 454.00p 5.58%

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 630.00p 5.00%

C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 94.50p 2.49%

Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 353.00p 2.02%

GB Group (GBG) 201.50p 1.87%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 627.50p 1.78%

Premier Foods (PFD) 199.70p 1.73%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 236.00p 1.72%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 254.00p 1.68%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bodycote (BOY) 715.50p -13.06%

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 713.00p -7.88%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 675.00p -7.09%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 130.30p -6.93%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 380.50p -6.51%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 541.50p -6.31%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 106.40p -6.01%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,975.00p -5.89%

BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 960.00p -5.88%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 3,062.00p -4.85%