London open: Stocks at one-month high ahead of US jobs report

5th Jul 2013 08:42

Stocks were performing well on Friday morning, pushing the FTSE 100 to a one-month high ahead of the eagerly-anticipated US jobs report later on.London's benchmark index was building on its massive gains the day before, after jumping 3.1% on the back of dovish comments by the Bank of England and European Central Bank, as policymakers sought to give more forward guidance on interest rates.The FTSE 100 was trading a further 0.3% higher at 6,441 this morning, a level not seen since June 4th.Helping to support stocks this morning were comments by Goldman Sachs which recommended to go long UK equities for three reasons: the UK economic "looks to be on an upswing" after recent upbeat data; monetary policy looks likely to ease further; a "gradual stabilisation" in Eurozone growth is expected in the second half.Nevertheless, all eyes today will be on the Labor Department's employment report for June, with US non-farm payrolls expected to rise by 165,000, down from the 175,000 gain in May. The jobless rate is expected to fall from 7.6% to 7.5%, according to consensus estimates."With US jobs data due for release at 13:30 BST today, volumes will no doubt be on the light side. However, it is fair to say that the outlook for global economic prospects is far more encouraging than at the end of last week," said Max Cohen, a Financial Sales Trader from Spreadex."[...] it would seem that today's US jobs data will prove to be another sign that the US economy is on the right track towards recovery. Market participants will be wise to err on the side of caution as the data could be interpreted in several ways. Whilst a strong figure could be bullish, it could be seen as a means to further justify the withdrawal of its asset-buying programme."FTSE 100: British Land jumps after Paddington acquisitionBritish Land rose strongly this morning after acquiring a majority of Paddington Central, a, 11-acre mixed use estate in London's West End. The property comprises seven modern buildings and a retail and leisure cluster, totalling 1.2m sq ft.Oil and gas engineer Wood Group wasn't far behind after the shares were upgraded by Bank of America to 'buy' and lifted its target price from 940p to 1,040p. The stock was extending gains after the company secured its sixth major North Sea contract extension of the year.Defence and aerospace engineering group firm Meggitt was lower after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'hold', citing "insufficient upside" since the share price has surpassed its target.FTSE 250: Gold miners, Afren rise early onAfrican Barrick Gold and Polymetal were in demand this morning after Nomura raised its ratings for the gold miners to 'buy' following recent falls. However, the broker has cut its target prices significantly, saying it remains bearish on gold prices in the near term.Sector peer Centamin meanwhile was continuing to perform well on the back of developments in Egypt after President Mohamed Mursi was ousted from office by the army. Centamin has been involved in a legal dispute with Egypt's administrative court since the government came into power regarding the validity of its Sukari licence.Oil and gas group Afren was higher after acquiring a further interest in First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN), increasing its share in a compelling portfolio of assets onshore. The firm has bought a 23.3% stake for $105.4m from and entered into a put/call option to buy a further 12.5%.FTSE 100 - RisersTravis Perkins (TPK) 1,563.00p +2.49%British Land Co (BLND) 596.00p +1.97%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 392.70p +1.79%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,837.00p +1.77%Schroders (SDR) 2,275.00p +1.74%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,148.00p +1.59%TUI Travel (TT.) 375.60p +1.54%Land Securities Group (LAND) 940.50p +1.51%Serco Group (SRP) 681.50p +1.41%GKN (GKN) 326.50p +1.37%FTSE 100 - FallersWhitbread (WTB) 3,131.00p -2.00%Antofagasta (ANTO) 823.00p -1.44%Fresnillo (FRES) 930.00p -1.22%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 271.65p -1.13%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,729.00p -1.03%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,712.00p -1.01%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,064.00p -0.75%Anglo American (AAL) 1,255.50p -0.59%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,043.00p -0.48%Kingfisher (KGF) 366.90p -0.46%FTSE 250 - RisersCentamin (DI) (CEY) 37.95p +6.15%Xaar (XAR) 818.00p +3.81%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 109.00p +3.51%Redrow (RDW) 245.30p +3.11%Mitie Group (MTO) 267.10p +3.05%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,759.00p +2.57%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,084.00p +2.41%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 146.40p +2.38%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 378.50p +2.30%International Personal Finance (IPF) 528.50p +2.03%FTSE 250 - FallersHochschild Mining (HOC) 164.90p -3.06%COLT Group SA (COLT) 98.50p -2.38%Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,323.00p -2.00%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 505.00p -1.94%Ocado Group (OCDO) 298.70p -1.74%Ted Baker (TED) 1,720.00p -1.71%IP Group (IPO) 147.70p -1.53%SEGRO (SGRO) 282.80p -1.29%Genesis Emerging Markets Fund Ltd. (GSS) 513.00p -1.25%Cranswick (CWK) 1,123.00p -1.14%