London open: FTSE little changed ahead of payrolls; oil falls

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were little changed in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed the latest US non-farm payrolls report, with oil prices down amid reports of progress in US-Iran peace talks.

At 0834 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 10,470.93, while Brent crude was 1.4% lower at $70.55 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was off 1.5% at $67.58 after a spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry said "positive progress" was made on issues related to the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. This followed a separate meeting of Qatari and Pakistani mediators with the US and Iranian delegations in Doha.

"The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader," the official posted on X.

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, the latest non-farm payrolls report, unemployment rate and average earnings will be released at 1330 BST, a day early due to the Independence Day holiday in the US on Friday.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The market is expecting an approximately 113k increase in payrolls, which is a step down from the 172k print for May, the unemployment rate is expected to remain stable at 4.3%, and average hourly earnings could pick up a notch to 3.5% from 3.4% YoY.

"The strong reading for May makes the June report a test: can the upside momentum be maintained, or was the May figure an anomaly? Federal government jobs jumped last month, but this is expected to be one-off. If we get a reading that is close to consensus, then it would suggest modest growth in US jobs numbers are continuing. This would point to a resilient labour market that is not falling off a cliff."

Brooks said a downside surprise of 70k or lower could see the US Treasury curve steepen, as 2-year Treasury yields fall, and long-end bond yields rise. "We think a weaker number could also lead to a recalibration of US interest rate expectations, and we think the Fed would be unlikely to hike rates in July if the labour market is showing signs of softening, especially if the unemployment rate also rises," she added.

In equity markets, electricals retailer Currys fell even as it posted a jump in full-year earnings despite headwinds in the UK.

Group revenues in the year to 2 May rose 6% to �9.2bn, or by 4% on a like-for-like basis, while adjusted pre-tax profits jumped 18% at �191m. Underlying sales in the UK and Ireland were 3% stronger - despite a "subdued" consumer backdrop - and 6% in the Nordics.

Safety equipment maker Halma nudged higher as it announced two acquisitions for a total of �54m. The firm bought Netherlands-based itemedical for �23m (�20m ) and Sweden's Naslund Medical for $45m (�34m) both on a cash and debt free basis.

Online classifieds group Baltic Classifieds tumbled after full-year results, while Next and JD Sports were weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,470.93 -0.07%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,194.67 -0.58%

techMARK (TASX) 5,911.70 0.06%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 337.50p 2.46%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,073.00p 2.08%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,314.00p 1.89%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,016.00p 1.87%

Tesco (TSCO) 468.20p 1.69%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 381.70p 1.65%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 5,035.00p 1.64%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 8,060.00p 1.58%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 32.60p 1.40%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,941.50p 1.35%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Relx plc (REL) 2,315.00p -1.91%

IMI (IMI) 2,884.00p -1.77%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 82.76p -1.57%

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,675.00p -1.55%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,462.50p -1.52%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,892.00p -1.50%

Informa (INF) 904.80p -1.25%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 507.20p -1.21%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,772.00p -1.20%

Investec (INVP) 596.00p -1.16%

FTSE 250 - Risers

CMC Markets (CMCX) 669.00p 2.92%

Chemring Group (CHG) 546.50p 1.58%

Frasers Group (FRAS) 747.50p 1.39%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 739.50p 1.37%

Breedon Group (BREE) 302.00p 1.27%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 447.20p 1.27%

THG (THG) 32.20p 1.26%

The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 2.07p 1.23%

Telecom Plus (TEP) 744.00p 1.22%

Premier Foods (PFD) 206.20p 1.18%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 183.00p -8.77%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 507.00p -4.16%

Workspace Group (WKP) 330.80p -4.12%

Rank Group (RNK) 90.00p -3.95%

Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 318.50p -3.64%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 185.00p -3.55%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 126.60p -3.35%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 997.00p -3.20%

FirstGroup (FGP) 186.80p -3.11%

Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 763.50p -3.11%