London midday: FTSE flat ahead of payrolls report
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 06 Jun 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had pared earlier small gains to trade flat by midday on Friday as investors eyed the latest US non-farm payrolls report.
The FTSE 100 was steady at 8,809.18.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Attention now turns to the non-farm payrolls report later, which is often described as the most important individual economic release of any given month. The release will garner particular attention given that it could awaken the Federal Reserve from its current holding pattern should the number be much weaker than expected.
"It also comes after reports earlier in the week which implied some softening in the labour market, with the ADP number being sharply short of expectations and jobless claims ahead of estimates. Non-farms are expected to show that 125,000 jobs will have been added in May as compared to 177,000 the previous month and that the 4.2% unemployment rate will remain unchanged."
The payrolls report for May is due at 1330 BST, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings.
On home shores, data released earlier by Halifax showed that house prices eased slightly in May following surge in activity during spring.
House prices fell by 0.4% last month following a 0.3% rise in April. The average property price is now £296,648.
However, Halifax said the market remained stable, with house prices up 2.5% over the year.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at the lender, said: "These small monthly movements point to a housing market that has remained largely stable, with average prices down just 0.2% since the start of the year.
"The market appears to have absorbed the temporary surge in activity over spring, which was driven by the changes to stamp duty."
The UK housing market saw a flurry of activity earlier this year, as homebuyers rushed to complete deals ahead of changes to stamp duty thresholds, which came into effect on April.
Looking ahead, Bryden acknowledged that affordability remained a challenge for many, with house prices still high relative to incomes.
But she continued: "Lower mortgage rates and steady wage growth have helped support buyer confidence.
"The outlook will depend on the pace of cuts to interest rates, as well as the strength of future income growth and broader inflation trends.
"Despite ongoing pressure on household finances and still-uncertain economic backdrop, the housing market has shown resilience, a story we expect to continue in the months ahead."
In equity markets, Prudential and Phoenix Group were both boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Deutsche Bank.
Dr Martens racked up strong gains for the second day in a row, having surged more than 20% on Thursday after the bootmaker said it expected 2026 earnings to be in line with guidance and that it would cut discounts in the Americas and EMEA regions under a turnaround plan led by new boss Ije Nwokorie.
Trainline advanced after saying it has been selected by the Rail Delivery Group as a technology supplier to support one of four digital pay-as-you-go trials.
On the downside, defence firms were under the cosh following strong gains earlier in the week, with Babcock, BAE Sytems and Qinetiq all weaker.
Legal & General also fell after a downgrade to 'hold' at Deutsche Bank.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,809.18 -0.02%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,071.34 0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 4,921.74 -0.05%
FTSE 100 - Risers
3i Group (III) 4,222.00p 1.73%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,169.50p 1.48%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,344.00p 1.43%
Prudential (PRU) 879.20p 1.24%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 277.40p 1.17%
SSE (SSE) 1,755.00p 1.09%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 650.50p 1.09%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 444.90p 1.00%
Tesco (TSCO) 391.00p 0.96%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 366.50p 0.94%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,066.00p -3.53%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,903.00p -2.28%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,946.50p -1.79%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,263.50p -1.31%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 291.20p -1.29%
Experian (EXPN) 3,765.00p -1.18%
SEGRO (SGRO) 677.80p -1.14%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,320.00p -1.07%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,704.00p -1.01%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 255.30p -1.01%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 80.25p 6.43%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 470.70p 3.91%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 242.50p 3.19%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 291.20p 3.19%
Trainline (TRN) 279.60p 2.64%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 366.00p 2.52%
Vistry Group (VTY) 588.60p 1.94%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 323.00p 1.38%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 883.50p 1.38%
THG (THG) 24.44p 1.33%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 551.00p -3.67%
Senior (SNR) 167.60p -2.78%
Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd. (OCN) 1,430.00p -2.72%
Mitie Group (MTO) 135.40p -2.31%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 239.00p -2.05%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,057.00p -1.67%
AJ Bell (AJB) 490.60p -1.64%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,091.50p -1.58%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 119.40p -1.49%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 429.80p -1.47%
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