Equity markets in Europe were searching for direction in midday trade on Friday, with investors sitting idly ahead of the key US nonfarm payrolls report due out this afternoon.
‘The key event of the day for markets is the release of new US jobs numbers as these will be analysed closely by the Federal Reserve at its November interest rate decision,’ AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented.
A weaker reading - which is what the market expects - could be seen as a bullish signal for stocks, as it may force the Fed to slow the pace of its rate hikes. A better-than-expected jobs report strengthens the case for another chunky rate hike. The Fed has lifted its federal funds rate target range by 75 basis points in each of the previous three meetings.
The FTSE 100 index was up 8.56 points, or 0.1%, at 7,005.83. The FTSE 250 was down 98.47 points, 0.6%, at 17,534.17. The AIM All-Share was down by 0.77 of a point, or 0.1%, at 815.43.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 699.93, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.4% at 14,968.15, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 12,697.26.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1%, though the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.1%.
Stocks in the US are called mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is to open 0.1% higher, the S&P 500 0.1% lower and the Nasdaq Composite 0.4% lower.
US jobs growth is expected to have slowed to 250,000 in September, from 315,000 in August, according to FXStreet.
‘The Fed clearly still regards the labour market as too tight. The concern that this will fuel domestic inflationary pressures is a key reason why they are signalling the likelihood of another sizeable rise in interest rates at their next policy update on November 2. Even a below par report is unlikely to stop them from raising rates. However, markets are unsure whether they will opt for a third successive rate hike of 75 basis points or go for a slightly smaller rise of 50bp,’ analysts at Lloyds Bank commented.
The dollar was mixed ahead of the data, gaining on the euro and yen, but edging lower against the pound. Cable briefly rose above the $1.12 mark again.
The pound was quoted at $1.1193 midday in London on Friday, up ever-so-slightly from $1.1191 at the close on Thursday.
The euro stood at $0.9794 Friday, down against $0.9837 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥144.91, higher compared to JP¥144.81.
US President Joe Biden said Thursday the world risks nuclear ‘armageddon’ for the first time since the Cold War, and that he is trying to find Russian President Vladimir Putin's ‘off-ramp.’
‘We have not faced the prospect of armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis’ in 1962, Biden said at a Democratic Party fundraising event in New York.
In London on Friday, pub firm JD Wetherspoons jumped 14%, the best FTSE 250 performer.
Revenue in the 53 weeks to July 31 came in at £1.74 billion, compared to £772.6 million year-on-year, the pub chain said.
It swung to pretax profit of £26.3 million, from a sizeable £194.6 million loss the year earlier.
The performance, the pub firm said, was a step-up from its ‘annus horribilis’ but still below pre-virus levels.
Like-for-like sales in the first nine weeks of the new financial year are up 10% annually.
Shares in Marston's and Mitchells & Butlers rose 3.6% and 3.3% in a positive read-across. M&B owns the All Bar One chain.
At the other end of the FTSE 250, Marshalls dropped 17%.
Revenue for the nine months to September 30 was £544 million, rising 20% year-on-year from £453 million, the landscaping products firm said.
However, it now predicts outturn will be slightly below the bottom end of the current range of market expectations for its full year. Consensus stands at £98.5 million, within a range of £95.1 million to £101.0 million.
Superdry added 13% as it reported a swing to annual profit.
In the financial year that ended April 30, it swung to a pretax profit of £17.9 million from a loss of £36.7 million the year prior. Revenue grew 9.6% to £609.6 million from £556.1 million.
Chief Executive Officer Julian Dunkerton said: ‘The last two years have caused unimaginable levels of disruption and uncertainty, with Omicron hitting at a critical sales period in financial 2022.’
The firm added: ‘Although we remain cautious on the macroeconomic outlook and the impact of inflation, we are confident that our strategy is positioning the brand for future success.’
Brent oil climbed above the $95 mark. A barrel of the North Sea benchmark was quoted at $95.40 at midday in London on Friday, up from $94.30 late Thursday.
Gold was quoted at $1,710.03 an ounce midday Friday in London, down against $1,712.13 Thursday.
In Zurich, shares in Credit Suisse rose 6.7%. It announced a tender offer to repurchase debt for up to fr.3 billion, around $3.03 billion.
‘The transactions are consistent with our proactive approach to managing our overall liability composition and optimizing interest expense and allow us to take advantage of market conditions to repurchase debt at attractive prices,’ it explained.
The move follows recent spikes in the bank's five-year credit default swaps, which saw its shares come under heavy selling pressure.
Like other banks, Credit Suisse has been hurt by falling markets since the invasion of Ukraine.
But its results have also been burdened by heavy provisions for litigation at a time when it is trying to revitalise its investment bank after the scandals that followed its woes since Greensill and Archegos floundered.
In March 2021, Credit Suisse was rocked by the collapse of the British financial firm Greensill, in which some $10 billion had been committed through four funds, and then by the implosion of the US fund Archegos, which cost it more than $5 billion.
So far this year, Credit Suisse shares are down roughly 50%.
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