London close: Stocks pare early gains after US jobs data

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks finished higher on Thursday, snapping a five-day losing streak that sent the Footsie to a four-week low, though gains were modest despite American chip giant Nvidia easing investors' concerns with a solid earnings report.

The FTSE 100 close the day 0.2% higher at 9,527.65, having risen as much as 0.9% earlier on to hit a high of 9,593.83.

The late pullback followed a negative start on Wall Street following some stronger-than-expected jobs figures that raised fears that a US interest rate cut might be off the cards.

"The US jobs number for September, delayed by the government shutdown, may have beaten expectations at the headline level but a surprise tick higher in unemployment at least provided a morsel for those clinging to hopes of a December rate cut from the US Federal Reserve," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

"From being priced as a near certainty at the end of October, the market now appears far more sceptical about the prospects of a pre-Christmas cut."

Investors were also mulling the Wednesday evening's FOMC minutes, which showed that Federal Reserve officials are increasingly divided over the direction of monetary policy.

Back on home shores, the latest Industrial Trends Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed manufacturing output volumes fell in November at the fastest pace since August 2020 amid uncertainty ahead of the Budget. Output volumes fell in the period, with a net balance of -30%, down from -16% in October.

CBI lead economist Ben Jones said: "Manufacturers face a challenging end to the year. What's striking in this month's survey is how consistently firms link the slowdown to uncertainty ahead of the Budget, with customers delaying purchases and investment until they know what's coming."

Games Workshop rallies, JD Sports slumps

Games Workshop jumped 15% to an all-time high after saying in a very brief update that it expects to report a jump in sales and profit for the six months to 30 November.

Halma was also a high riser, up 13% as it hailed record first-half results and upgraded its full-year guidance. Halma now expects to deliver mid-teens organic revenue growth at constant currency for the full year, supported by continued premium growth in photonics within its environmental and analysis division.

Industrial stocks were performing well, with big gains from Rolls-Royce, Melrose and BAE Systems.

Heading the other way was JD Sports Fashion which fell 2% as it said full-year pre-tax profits before adjusting items were set to come in at the lower end of market forecasts. Analysts had been expecting pre-tax profits in the range of �853m to �888m, with consensus currently for �871m.

On the FTSE 250, CMC Markets rocketed 28% as it lifted its outlook for full-year net operating income after a better-than-expected first half and a particularly strong performance in Australia.

Lastly, Paypoint tanked 21% as it said that underlying EBITDA for FY26 was set to be ahead of last year and broadly in line with current market expectations but that it would take longer than expected to deliver underlying EBITDA of �100m.