LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London stocks ended the week on a positive note on Friday, buoyed by upbeat global developments and solid US employment data.
The FTSE 100 index advanced 1.17% to close at 8,596.35 points, while the FTSE 250 added 0.52% to finish at 20,240.51 points.

For the week as a whole, the top-flight index was ahead 181.1 points, or 2.15%.

Currency markets were relatively stable, with sterling holding steady on the dollar at $1.3278, although it slipped 0.3% against the euro to change hands at €1.1723.

"Hopes of a softening stance between the US and China and strong US labour market data propelled European stock indices to their fourth straight weekly gain," said IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph.

"Some indices, like the German DAX 40, rallied by over 2.5% on Friday, to within 2% of its record high.

"US indices lagged their European peers but still gained over a percentage point on Friday and saw their second consecutive weekly gain as recession fears receded."

Rudolph noted that US jobs growth exceeded expectations, with wage growth coming in slightly below forecasts, while US factory orders rose sharply, as expected, before the impact of tariffs.

"Signs of improving US-China trade relations helped the copper price regain most of this week's losses.

"Even though the gold price traded slightly higher on Friday, it saw its second straight weekly loss as flight-to-safety trades unwind, apparently amid Chinese selling.

"Saudi Arabia opening its oil floodgates exacerbated selling with the oil price dropping close to 10% over the past couple of weeks."

US job growth slows in April, but remains above expectations

In economic news, US job growth slowed in April but remained stronger than expected, easing concerns over a sharper labour market slowdown.

Data from the Department of Labor showed non-farm payrolls rose by 177,000, above the consensus forecast of 138,000.

However, the March figure was revised down from an initially reported 228,000 to 185,000.

The increase was driven largely by the healthcare and social assistance sector, which added 58,200 jobs.

Transportation and warehousing saw gains of 29,000, while leisure and hospitality employment rose by 24,000.

Private sector payrolls increased by 167,000, and government hiring added 10,000 positions.

Average hourly earnings grew by 0.2% on the month, falling short of expectations for a 0.3% rise, suggesting modest wage pressure.

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, based on a separate household survey.

"Some of the underlying details of the April employment report were softer than the headlines, but overall, the data were strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to remain on the sidelines as it monitors the impact of tariffs on inflation and inflation expectations," said economists at Oxford Economics.

Shell rises on stronger-than-expected earnings, consumer staples and utilities underperform

On London's equity markets, Shell rose 1.97% after the oil major reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and launched a $3.5bn share buyback.

Adjusted profit came in at $5.58bn, well above the $4.96bn consensus, on revenue of $69.23bn.

Despite slightly softer-than-forecast operating cash flow of $9.28bn, the company also declared a dividend of 35.8 cents per share and reported net debt of $41.52bn.

Standard Chartered edged up 0.06% after the bank posted a better-than-expected $2.10bn pre-tax profit for the first quarter, citing strong performance in wealth management.

However, it warned of continued uncertainty linked to global trade tensions.

Ferrexpo surged 7.92% as sentiment remained buoyant on the back of a US-Ukraine minerals agreement and signs of potential US-China trade talks.

Harbour Energy, also buoyed by stronger commodity prices, gained 5.04%.

SSP Group rose 3.45% after the Financial Times reported that activist investor Irenic Capital had built a 2% stake in the company.

British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group climbed 4.14%, helped by improved investor appetite following US jobs data that signaled moderate economic momentum.

On the downside, consumer staples and utilities underperformed.

Sainsbury's slipped 1.42%, SSE fell 1.35%, and Tesco eased 0.19%, as bond yields edged higher following the US payrolls release.

BT Group and Lloyds also lost ground, down 0.75% and 0.95% respectively.

Pearson dipped 0.21% despite confirming it was on track to meet full-year guidance after a 1% increase in underlying sales and a 6% rise in higher education revenue.

The company highlighted progress on strategic priorities and unveiled a £350m buyback.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,596.35 1.17%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,240.51 0.52%
techMARK (TASX) 4,663.27 0.76%

FTSE 100 - Risers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 279.00p 5.01%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 455.90p 4.88%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 842.00p 3.95%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 359.40p 3.60%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,115.00p 3.21%
Entain (ENT) 671.00p 2.76%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,976.00p 2.68%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,380.00p 2.59%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 845.40p 2.51%
Haleon (HLN) 398.40p 2.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,073.00p -1.95%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 263.40p -1.72%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,115.00p -1.50%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,741.00p -1.40%
Kingfisher (KGF) 287.90p -1.37%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,713.00p -1.09%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 72.96p -1.08%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 70.58p -1.07%
GSK (GSK) 1,448.50p -0.99%
Beazley (BEZ) 886.50p -0.78%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 77.70p 7.92%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,190.00p 6.51%
Senior (SNR) 146.20p 6.25%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 160.90p 5.23%
XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 401.50p 4.83%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 473.40p 4.73%
Future (FUTR) 732.50p 4.57%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,205.00p 4.40%
Savills (SVS) 966.00p 3.87%
SSP Group (SSPG) 155.90p 3.45%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 323.00p -4.38%
Mobico Group (MCG) 30.56p -3.78%
Just Group (JUST) 138.00p -2.95%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,700.00p -2.89%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 93.10p -2.82%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 274.20p -2.80%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 349.40p -2.62%
Spectris (SXS) 2,030.00p -2.50%
Greggs (GRG) 1,784.00p -2.46%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 6,065.00p -2.26%

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE