London open: FTSE falls as investors mull UK jobs data

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday as civil unrest in France and Italy continued to dent sentiment, and as investors mulled the latest UK jobs data.

At 0850 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 10,729.67, while sterling was up 0.3% against the dollar at 1.3349 after figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped in August, although the number of vacancies also continued to fall.

The unemployment rate in June to August was 4.7%, better than the 4.9% markets were expecting and down 0.1 percentage points on both the year and quarter.

However, vacancies also fell, by an estimated 2.9% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September, as small firms opted to hold back on hiring amid higher costs. It was the largest fall since the start of the year.

David Freeman, deputy director of labour market statistics at the ONS, said: "The number of vacancies has seen its largest fall since the start of the year, concentrated mainly within smaller businesses, which cite increased labour costs as a key factor."

Wage growth, meanwhile, remained relatively stable. Annual growth in employees' average regular earnings excluding bonuses was 3.7%, up from 3.6% and marginally ahead of consensus for no change. Including bonuses, and growth slowed to 3.7% from 3.9%, the lowest rate in nearly six years.

Driving the growth was the public sector, where annual average regular earnings growth was 6.3% compared to 3% in the private sector.

Adam Deasy, economist at PwC UK, said: "A fall in headline unemployment will be welcomed by the Prime Minister ahead of the Budget next week, but the underlying figures stress that the labour market still faces challenges. The Budget may bring some targeted interventions, but don't be surprised if the bulk of structural measures around youth inactivity and disability are held until the Milburn and Timms reviews are complete later in the year."

Investors were also looking ahead to the latest quarterly results from streaming giant Netflix, due after the close of US markets.

In equity markets, Bunzl slumped despite posting a rise in third-quarter revenue and reiterating its full-year outlook.

Genuit tumbled after the provider of sustainable water and climate products warned that full-year profits would miss market expectations amid ongoing challenging market conditions. It now expects full-year underlying operating profit of around £84m, versus consensus expectations of £91m to £96m.

On the upside, Anglo American gained as it posted a 5% drop in third-quarter copper production, driven mainly by unprecedented weather events in Chile, but said it was on track to meet full-year guidance.

DIY group Wickes also rose as it said it was on track to meet full-year expectations after reporting a 4% rise in third-quarter revenues driven by strong growth in retail trading.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,729.67 -0.33%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,261.20 -0.48%

techMARK (TASX) 6,182.21 -0.49%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 3,929.00p 1.62%

Tesco (TSCO) 545.20p 1.34%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,107.50p 1.00%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 361.20p 0.98%

The Sage Group (SGE) 1,146.00p 0.83%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,085.00p 0.74%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,514.00p 0.69%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,540.00p 0.67%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,836.00p 0.64%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,933.00p 0.60%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Halma (HLMA) 3,300.00p -2.99%

Diploma (DPLM) 7,550.00p -2.95%

Weir (WEIR) 2,556.00p -2.66%

IMI (IMI) 2,886.00p -2.36%

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,734.00p -2.21%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 273.40p -2.15%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,303.40p -2.07%

Computacenter (CCC) 4,892.00p -2.01%

Spirax Group (SPX) 7,260.00p -1.82%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,042.00p -1.64%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 332.60p 4.92%

Wickes Group (WIX) 224.00p 4.87%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 130.80p 1.71%

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited NPV (CORD) 119.00p 1.71%

Trainline (TRN) 219.60p 1.66%

Unite Group (UTG) 448.20p 1.45%

FirstGroup (FGP) 206.40p 1.37%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 77.16p 1.34%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,596.00p 1.23%

Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares (YNGA) 1,160.00p 1.22%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Genuit Group (GEN) 245.60p -14.92%

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,648.00p -6.79%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 282.40p -6.74%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 179.20p -4.17%

Renishaw (RSW) 5,245.00p -2.96%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.25p -2.77%

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 788.00p -2.72%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 562.75p -2.71%

Volex (VLX) 552.00p -2.66%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 620.50p -2.51%