LONDON (ShareCast) - Markets were rangebound on Friday morning as investors scaled back risk appetite ahead of the all-important US jobs report due out this afternoon.

Even a impressive reading of construction activity in the UK failed to give stocks a boost this morning; the UK construction purchasing managers' index surged from 51.0 to 57.0 in July, well ahead of the expected increase to 51.5.

The FTSE 100 was trading only marginally lower than Thursday's close of 6,682 with just 20 points separating the index's intraday high (6,689) and low (6,669).

The momentum in the US economic recovery gathered pace this week with jobless claims falling to a five-year low, the US ISM manufacturing index jumping to a two-year high and economic growth accelerating strongly in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Wednesday's ADP employment report - normally seen as a rough guide to today's official figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics - came in better than expected, with 200,000 private-sector jobs being added in July (consensus forecast: 180,000).

Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 finished at new all-time highs on Thursday night on Wall Street, boosted by the strong figures as well as the Federal Reserve's support for continued monetary stimulus.

Today's official employment report is expected to see a 185,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in the US in July, slightly below the 195,000 increase in June. However, the unemployment rate is predicted to fall from 7.6% to 7.5%.
 
FTSE 100: William Hill and RBS provide a drag

Shares in William Hill sank sharply on Friday morning as investors gave a cool reaction to the High Street bookie's first-half results, in which pre-tax profits came in flat year-on-year. The firm also didn't give an update on current trading, though analysts at Canaccord Genuity said that July will have been more challenging on gross win margins (though this is a "small" month).

Royal Bank of Scotland was a heavy faller after missing profit forecasts in the first half. The bank reported a clean profit before tax before non-recurring items of £676m for the second quarter, down from £747m in the first three months and well below the consensus forecast of £880m. RBS also confirmed reports that Ross McEwan would take over as Chief Executive Officer from Stephen Hester.
 
Mining stocks were out of favour as metal prices weakened: Fresnillo, Randgold, Antofagasta and Anglo American were all in the red. Vedanta Resources was also lower after suffering a shareholder revolt over its pay at its annual meeting on Thursday.

Leading the upside was airline IAG after a high-flying second quarter which beat forecasts by a mile. The company reported an operating profit of €245m in the three months to June 30th, up from a loss of €4.0m the year before and well ahead of the €163m consensus estimate.

Drinks can maker Rexam wasn't far behind after upping its interim dividend by 14% despite profits being held back by high aluminium and labour costs in the first half.

FTSE 250: Inmarsat, Inchcape, Vesuvius and Man Group impress

Half-yearly reports from satellite operator Inmarsat impressed the market this morning, causing shares to rocket higher.

Investors also welcomed record interim profits and a share buyback at car dealer Inchcape, as well as first-half numbers from engineer Vesuvius and hedge fund manager Man Group.

Heading the other way was wireless technology firm CSR after UBS downgraded the stock on valuation grounds, cutting its rating from 'neutral' to 'sell'.


FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 310.70p +4.58%
Rexam (REX) 516.50p +2.08%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,244.00p +1.86%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 226.40p +1.71%
Amec (AMEC) 1,096.00p +1.58%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 799.00p +1.46%
CRH (CRH) 1,419.00p +1.00%
Serco Group (SRP) 639.00p +0.95%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 728.00p +0.76%
TUI Travel (TT.) 388.80p +0.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
William Hill (WMH) 458.70p -7.24%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,032.00p -4.80%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 318.10p -4.62%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,741.00p -3.52%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,586.00p -3.47%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,302.00p -2.84%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,351.00p -2.17%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 832.00p -1.71%
Barclays (BARC) 286.40p -1.61%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 286.50p -1.10%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Inmarsat (ISAT) 727.50p +7.62%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 472.90p +7.48%
Inchcape (INCH) 628.00p +6.98%
Man Group (EMG) 87.75p +5.03%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 149.10p +4.85%
Essentra (ESNT) 815.50p +3.75%
Cobham (COB) 301.70p +3.36%
FirstGroup (FGP) 106.20p +2.91%
AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 319.00p +2.90%
esure Group (ESUR) 307.70p +2.74%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
CSR (CSR) 543.00p -4.40%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 320.40p -3.78%
Grainger (GRI) 180.60p -3.68%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 114.80p -3.29%
Playtech (PTEC) 680.00p -3.13%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 239.90p -2.72%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 689.50p -2.54%
NB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Ltd GBP (NBLS) 105.90p -2.40%
Unite Group (UTG) 393.50p -2.36%
Polymetal International (POLY) 660.00p -2.29%

BC

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