(Sharecast News) - London stocks had ticked higher by midday on Friday, recovering from heavy losses a day earlier, when equities and bond markets sold off amid inflation fears, as investors turned their attention to the latest US non-farm payrolls report.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 10,461.79, having ended down 1.7% on Thursday after the 30-year gilt yield hit 6% for the first time since 1998 and as oil prices surged.
Meanwhile, oil prices eased, with Brent crude down 2.5 at $99.78 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate 3.9% lower at $89.28 following reports that European Union member states are discussing a French proposal to release additional diesel reserves after pressure from the Trump administration.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 picked itself up off the canvas on Friday, after being knocked for six by Thursday's aggressive selling in government bonds.
"Other European markets also managed to claw back some ground even as Asian stocks played catch up with losses to match the trend seen in parts of Europe and the US on Thursday.
"Bond yields have stabilised for now, though are still elevated and within sight of multi-decade highs. This highlights concerns about inflationary pressures, the direction of interest rates, and the state of public finances, and threatens to diminish the appeal of equities.
"US jobs numbers on Friday may offer some clues into the likely next move from the Federal Reserve on interest rates. This is the earliest release based on hard data to offer a barometer of the health of the world's largest economy.
"A stronger-than-expected number might necessitate further rate hikes in the near-term to limit the risk of said economy overheating."
The payrolls report for September is due at 1330 BST, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings.
In equity markets, JD Wetherspoon shares shot higher as it reported a slump in annual profits, weighed down by higher costs, but struck an upbeat tone on current trading.
The pub chain saw revenues rise 5.2% in the 52 weeks to 26 July, to £2.24bn, or by 4.2% on a like-for-like basis. However, pre-tax profits before separately disclosed items slid 28% to £58.6m following a 5.3% spike in costs, including wages, repairs and business rates.
Looking to current trading, and Wetherspoons said underlying sales had jumped in the nine weeks to 27 September by 8.6%, including a 7.7% uplift in August, on the back of the unusually warm summer weather.
Centrica gained as JPMorgan added the British Gas owner to its 'analyst focus list'.
On the downside, IG Group plunged after the online trading platform warned that a tough third quarter had hit annual revenues. The blue chip spreadbetter said total revenues were expected to have fallen by around 14% in the three months to 30 September, to £240m.
It attributed the slide to lower over-the-counter revenue retention in its core derivatives business, which fell to 70% from the 80% averaged since the introduction of market-making optimisation measures at the end of the last year.
As a result, IG now expects total 2026 revenues growth to be in the mid-single digit percentage range year-on-year, down from guidance in May of growth of between 10% and 15%. Prior to the update, consensus had been for total revenues of £1.26bn in 2026, following a 7% uplift in 2025 to £1.12bn.
CMC Markets was also under the cosh, while Plus500 was down but off lows after it sought to reassure investors with a brief statement saying trading was in line with expectations.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,461.79 0.32%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,229.50 0.36%
techMARK (TASX) 6,189.83 0.90%
FTSE 100 - Risers
BT Group (BT.A) 199.05p 4.48%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 29.76p 3.30%
Halma (HLMA) 3,576.00p 3.06%
Glencore (GLEN) 558.60p 2.46%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 127.10p 2.34%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,756.00p 2.20%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 311.60p 2.17%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,330.00p 2.09%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 939.00p 1.90%
3i Group (III) 2,582.00p 1.65%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 996.50p -22.52%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,171.00p -2.47%
ICG (ICG) 1,763.00p -2.11%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 13,280.00p -1.99%
SSE (SSE) 2,448.00p -0.85%
Prudential (PRU) 914.80p -0.78%
Abrdn (ABDN) 241.00p -0.74%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,427.80p -0.58%
Investec (INVP) 606.50p -0.57%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 49.05p -0.55%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 870.00p 7.13%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 230.00p 7.01%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 714.00p 4.08%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 425.40p 3.25%
Volex (VLX) 677.00p 3.20%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 267.00p 3.17%
Playtech (PTEC) 383.00p 2.96%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 524.00p 2.95%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 3,096.00p 2.79%
Trainline (TRN) 202.60p 2.63%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
CMC Markets (CMCX) 599.00p -8.97%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 3,268.00p -4.57%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 269.20p -2.46%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,975.00p -2.30%
ASOS (ASC) 495.00p -2.08%
Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 453.50p -1.83%
Applied Nutrition (APN) 263.00p -1.68%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 5,085.00p -1.55%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 92.00p -1.39%
Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 837.00p -1.30%
33.68 (0.32%)
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