The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Friday after markets fielded October’s US jobs report, which missed analyst estimates but supported the Federal Reserve keeping rates on hold again in December.
The FTSE 100 was trading down just 2 points to 7,444 at the time of writing as the jobs report helped erase losses.
The US economy added 150,000 jobs in the month of October, missing economist estimates of 180,000 jobs added. The Federal Reserve will be pleased to see average hourly wage growth slip to 4.1% from 4.3%.
US bond yields sank in the immediate reaction to the release. US 10-year yields fell to 4.56% after touching 5% just last week. This will be supportive of equity markets for the rest of the session if the declines hold.
S&P 500 futures were 0.4% higher.
The US jobs report comes after a busy week for central banks in which both the Federal Reserve and Bank of England kept rates on hold. However, both signalled they would react to economic conditions and did not rule out further rate hikes.
Today’s jobs report does not provide any reason for the Federal Reserve to hike rates again in the short term, but it is not weak enough to bring rate cuts back into the narrative.
FTSE 100 movers
Ocado was the FTSE 100’s top gainer on Friday as it continued the rebound from a catastrophic sell-off. Sainsbury’s earnings this week will help sentiment around Ocado’s shares as hopes of a bid from Amazon fizzle out.
Sainsbury’s itself was also stronger again after reporting rising sales and healthy margins earlier this week.
The leisure sector was heavily hit on Friday as interContinental Hotels shed 3% and Whitbread fell 2.4%.