FTSE 100 ends little changed, midcaps rise after strong U.S. jobs report

This content was published on October 4, 2024 - 18:20

2 minutes

By Khushi Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) -London-listed stocks were little changed at the close on Friday, paring some earlier declines after a strong U.S. jobs report, but ending the week in the red as investors eyed rising conflict in the Middle East.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 jumped 0.8% higher. Both indexes, however, notched weekly declines.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 dipped 0.5% for the week, while the midcap index lost 1.6%.

Stocks pared some losses after a closely watched U.S. labor market report showed the world’s largest economy added far more jobs than expected in September, quelling some concerns about the outlook for global growth and demand.

Heavyweight oil and gas shares advanced 0.9%, and jumped over 5.5% for the week, the sector’s best trading week since April as crude prices rose after President Joe Biden said the United States was discussing an Israeli attack on Iranian oil facilities.[O/R]

Escalating conflict in the Middle East has raised worries about disrupting supply, lifting commodity-linked stocks. The oil and gas sector was the best sector performer this week.

The FTSE 350 Bank index rose nearly 2% as investors trimmed expectations for Federal Reserve policy easing, and as Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said the BoE should move only gradually with cutting interest rates.

The personal goods index led sectoral gains on Friday with a 3% rise, lifted by a 5.5% rise in Watches of Switzerland Group on its plan to buy Hodinkee, a digital content provider for luxury watch enthusiasts.

However, a 1.3% fall in the pharma and biotech sector, led by a 1.9% loss in AstraZeneca, limited FTSE 100 gains on the day.

Construction PMI data showed Britain’s construction sector grew at its fastest pace in nearly two-and-a-half years in September, but costs faced by firms escalated.

(Reporting by Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Andrea Ricci)