The FTSE 100 remained within touching distance of 10,300 on Friday as investors held off making big bets amid uncertainty around US tech and the Middle East.
There was little in the way of UK corporate news to fire markets up on Friday, and the FTSE 100 ticked 0.3% higher in mid-morning trading as investors awaited US Non-Farm Payrolls.
“The tone remains cautious, with global macro and tech sentiment continuing to set the pace rather than domestic developments,” said Anna Macdonald, Investment Strategy Director, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Attention has firmly been on US tech shares this week after a wobble caused by Broadcom’s result, which hit AI-related shares.
US tech staged a late rally after the session started in the red yesterday, but futures were pointing to a lower open again on Friday, and performance here will likely dictate trade going into the weekend.
“The FTSE 100 held its ground on Friday as its lack of tech and AI exposure proved to be a benefit,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Broadcom’s failure to keep pace with soaring AI-related expectations with this week’s earnings and outlook prompted a wave of selling among related companies and led to weakness across Asia and Wall Street. The correction was compounded by a continuing lack of progress towards a US-Iran peace deal – though oil prices remain below $95 per barrel on hopes a breakthrough can be found.
“There will be scrutiny of the US jobs release later. After April’s strong data, investors will be watching to see if the headline figure falls within the 85,000 to 96,000 range analysts expect and whether unemployment stays at 4.3%.”
Falling tech shares were reflected in declines for Polar Capital Technology Trust, which may present a buying opportunity for one of the best-performing FTSE 100 constituents year to date.
Miners were lower again as concerns about tumbling Asian stocks lingered. Anglo American and Glencore were both down around 2%.
UK-centric stocks were again back in favour, with Rightmove adding 2%. Sainsbury’s was 2.3% higher.