The FTSE 100 rose on Friday as investors continued to assess a week of central bank action, major economic data, and the reinvigoration of the US regional bank crisis.
The FTSE 100 was 0.8% higher at the time of writing, shortly after the Non-Farm Payrolls release on Friday.
Widely seen as the globe’s most important single data point, the Non-Farm Payrolls provide deep insight into the health of the US economy.
Friday’s highly anticipated jobs number beat expectations, with 253,000 jobs added in the month of April. An Economist consensus had predicted 185,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate also fell.
While the beater-than-expected number suggests underlying health in the US economy, markets will be mindful that it means the Federal Reserve has no reason to cut rates in the short term.
Although many economists expect a US recession later this year, the US economy is showing little sign of slowing down.
FTSE 100 movers
UK banks and housebuilders were among the top risers on Friday. A rebound in stricken regional US banks PacWest and Western Alliance helped spur a rally in UK banks.
Barclays, HSBC and NatWest were up over 2%, while Lloyds gained 1.6%. UK banks have seen little operational impact during the banking turmoil, which has been limited to a few European institutions and mainly US regional banks.
Housebuilders were again performing strongly after upbeat house price data earlier this week. Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Barratt Developments were up between 0.5% and 1.6%. The sector has been heavily sold off, and many will see long-term value in individual names.
Underlining the cyclical nature of today’s rally, miners were higher after being under pressure for the past few weeks.
IAG was higher after reporting a surprise profit in the first quarter.