FTSE 100 up but mixed US jobs data tempers gains

The FTSE 100 snapped a five-day losing streak on Thursday, although gains were pared after mixed US jobs data pointed to interest rates there staying on hold.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 20.24 points, or 0.2%, at 9,527.65. It had earlier traded as high as 9,593.83.

The FTSE 250 ended 27.89 points lower, or 0.1%, at 21,384.35, while the AIM All-Share rose 0.52 points, 0.1%, to 741.20.

Keenly awaited jobs data in the US contained mixed news for the US Federal Reserve ahead of its December meeting.

The US labour market added more jobs than expected in September, according to the data published by the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 119,000 in September, topping the FXStreet-cited forecast of 50,000.

But figures for July and August were revised downwards by a total 33,000, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.4% in September, from 4.3% in August. It had been expected to remain at 4.3%.

ING thinks the “mixed messages on US jobs will keep the Fed hawkish,” especially given the lack of data ahead of the December 10 meeting.

Sterling was quoted at 1.3091 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, higher compared with 1.3076 dollars on Wednesday.

The euro stood at 1.1534 dollars, slightly lower against 1.1536 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 157.46 yen, compared with 156.67 yen.

In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3%, while the DAX40 in Frankfurt firmed 0.5%.

In New York, markets were higher at the time of the London equity market close.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 index was 0.6% higher, as was the Nasdaq Composite.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.10%, trimmed from 4.12% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 4.72%, narrowed from 4.74%.

Nvidia rose 0.7%, easing from earlier highs, after better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and outlook, soothing some investor worries about the artificial intelligence bubble.

“There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble. From our vantage point, we see something very different,” chief executive Jensen Huang said, noting sales of Blackwell chips are “off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out”.

“Nvidia management’s tone and outlook along with the beat-and-raise results should help to inject confidence back into the AI narrative again,” sad HSBC analyst Frank Lee in a research note.

Back in London, Games Workshop and Halma were the day’s big winners.

Games Workshop stormed 13% higher after a better-than-expected trading update.

The Nottingham-based fantasy game figurine maker and retailer expects pre-tax profit in the six months ending November 30, the first half of its financial 2026, will be at least £135 million, up 6.5% from £126.8 million a year before.

Core revenue will be at least £310 million, up 15% from £269.4 million a year before, while licensing revenue will be at least £16 million, down 47% from £30.1 million.

Jefferies analyst Andrew Wade called it an “outstanding” trading performance with core revenue growth well ahead of his 1.5% growth projection.

“This is an impressive performance from Games Workshop with another period of double-digit core revenue growth, well ahead of our expectations, adding further evidence to our view that concerns on the product release cycle are overdone,” he said.

Halma leaped 9.2% as it raised guidance after making “excellent progress” in the first half of its financial year with growth broadly spread across all sectors and regions.

The Amersham-based safety products manufacturer now expects mid-teens organic constant currency revenue growth for the full year, upped from its previous aim of a low double-digit rise.

Citi analyst Avinash Mundhra thinks consensus forecasts could rise 3% to 5% on the back of what he called “encouraging progress”.

BAE Systems rose 1.8%, recouping some of Wednesday’s falls.

Defence stocks fell on Wednesday on news that the US has a new 28-point peace plan for ending the Russian-Ukrainian war.

But JP Morgan thinks the reaction is “unjustified” and provides a “compelling entry point into the sector”.

The broker does not think the plan will be acceptable to Ukraine or its European allies, and said that even if imposed by the US it “would amount to a de facto victory for Russia, driving European defence spending even higher than planned and at a much faster pace”.

JD Sports was a prominent faller, down 3.9%, as it tempered its profit outlook for the financial year.

The Manchester-based sportswear retailer anticipates full-year pre-tax profit before adjusting items to be within the lower end of current market expectations of £853 million to £888 million.

This would be down from £923 million in financial 2025.

JD Sports said recent indicators have shown “incrementally weaker macroeconomic and consumer external data points in our key markets”.

On the FTSE 250, CMC Markets soared up 29% as it raised annual guidance reflecting accelerating momentum, record client cash balances, rising activity levels and stronger performance metrics.

The London-based trading platform now expects full-year net operating income to be around 10% ahead of current market expectations, which it put at £353.9 million.

But Paypoint plunged 21% as it reported a decrease in its interim profit.

The firm said it is dealing with disruption to its parcels network from the harmonisation of InPost and Yodel services and slower-than-expected growth at Obconnect.

Gold traded lower at 4,058.47 dollars an ounce on Thursday against 4,081.23 dollars on Wednesday.

Brent oil was quoted higher at 63.44 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, from 63.37 dollars late on Wednesday.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Games Workshop, up 2,170.0 pence at 18,260.0p, Halma, up 306.0p at 3,618.0p, Airtel Africa, up 10.0p at 305.5p, Diploma, up 110.0p at 5,320.0p and Polar Capital Technology Trust, up 8.5p at 457.0p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were WPP, down 14.2p at 299.4p, JD Sports, down 3.12p at 77.28p, Fresnillo, down 72.0p at 2,338.0p, Vodafone, down 1.96p at 89.82p and DCC, down 92.0p at 4,850.0p.

Friday’s global economic calendar has UK retail sales, public sector net borrowing and a flash composite PMI reading.

Elsewhere, retail sales figures are due in Canada and the Michigan consumer sentiment index in the US.

Friday’s UK corporate calendar has half-year results from aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering company Babcock International and full-year results from online fashion retailer Asos.

Contributed by Alliance News