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| UK 100 Leaders | Close (p) | Chg (p) | % Chg | % YTD |
| Persimmon PLC | 1940 | 130.0 | 7.2 | 9.2 |
| Fresnillo PLC | 1398 | 84.0 | 6.4 | 14.5 |
| Taylor Wimpey PLC | 169.4 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 10.4 |
| Randgold Resources Ltd | 6705 | 305.0 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| easyJet PLC | 1055 | 46.0 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
| UK 100 Laggards | Close (p) | Chg (p) | % Chg | % YTD |
| Rolls-Royce Group PLC | 639.5 | -28.0 | -4.2 | -4.3 |
| Standard Life PLC | 363.2 | -15.1 | -4.0 | -2.4 |
| Tesco PLC | 199.05 | -6.4 | -3.1 | -3.8 |
| Prudential PLC | 1601 | -41.0 | -2.5 | -1.6 |
| Legal & General Group PLC | 247.4 | -4.8 | -1.9 | -0.1 |
| Major World Indices | Mid/Close | Chg | % Chg | % YTD |
| UK UK 100 | 7,195.3 | 5.6 | 0.08 | 0.7 |
| UK | 18,308.2 | 156.9 | 0.86 | 1.3 |
| FR CAC 40 | 4,900.6 | 1.2 | 0.03 | 0.8 |
| DE DAX 30 | 11,584.9 | 0.6 | 0.01 | 0.9 |
| US DJ Industrial Average 30 | 19,899.3 | -43.0 | -0.22 | 0.7 |
| US Nasdaq Composite | 5,487.9 | 10.9 | 0.20 | 2.0 |
| US S&P 500 | 2,269.0 | -1.8 | -0.08 | 1.4 |
| JP Nikkei 225 | 19,454.3 | -66.4 | -0.34 | 1.8 |
| HK Hang Seng Index 50 | 22,506.0 | 49.4 | 0.22 | 2.3 |
| AU S&P/ASX 200 | 5,755.6 | 2.2 | 0.04 | 1.6 |
| Commodities & FX | Mid/Close | Chg | % Chg | % YTD |
| Crude Oil, West Texas Int. ($/barrel) | 53.62 | 0.73 | 1.38 | -0.5 |
| Crude Oil, Brent ($/barrel) | 56.72 | 0.64 | 1.14 | -0.3 |
| Gold ($/oz) | 1176.70 | -4.70 | -0.4 | 2.1 |
| Silver ($/oz) | 16.45 | -0.20 | -1.22 | 3.0 |
| GBP/USD – US$ per £ | 1.2382 | 0.0033 | -0.32 | 0.3 |
| EUR/USD – US$ per € | 1.0583 | 0.0065 | -0.2 | 0.6 |
| GBP/EUR – € per £ | 1.1700 | -0.0033 | -0.12 | -0.3 |
Click graph to enlarge
UK 100 Index called to open flat at 7195, back from overnight highs of 7200 and nursing falling highs resistance from yesterday’s fresh all-time intraday peak of 7210. However, it still holding above 7190 and 2017 shallow rising support at 7180 which keeps live the 7180-7210 New Year rising channel. Bulls need to get back above 7200 and 24-hour falling highs resistance while Bears need to see 3-day rising lows at 7180 give way. Watch levels: Bullish 7205, Bearish 7175.
Calls for a flat start are almost traditional in the run-up to the US Jobs report, made worse by a flat US finish and mixed Asian session. A flagging oil price is also weighing as the USD strengthens from its lows given the potential for a strong jobs report (wages growth in particular) to turn the Fed even more hawkish. Trump still doing his best to stir the geopolitical pot.
Japan’s Nikkei is in the red in spite of the Yen falling from a 3-week high as shares in airbag manufacturer Takata and retailer Uniqlo dropped and Energy was dented by an oil price coming off the boil. Australia’s ASX is only just positive despite the nation’s Trade Balance getting a boost from the recovery in commodity prices, with overnight USD strength acting as a hindrance.
US Markets finished Thursday’s session mixed as investors look ahead to today’s non-farm payrolls and accompanying data release. Further uncertainty surrounding potential policy enactment from President-elect Trump saw Financials drag both the Dow Jones (-0.2%) and S&P (-0.1%) lower, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most losses on the former. The Nasdaq, however, closed at a fresh all-time high after advancing 0.2% on Pharmaceutical strength.
Crude Oil prices continue to recover from Tuesday’s sell-off despite an initial negative reaction to a massive draw in official US inventories yesterday. Reports that Saudi Arabia is complying with production cut limitations imposed after November’s OPEC deal is helping to support both Brent and US crude rallies from Tuesday’s lows, however an early test of rising lows support could put the recovery into question.
Gold has fallen from one month highs, having reached $1185/troy oz shortly before European close, as the US Dollar rallies from yesterday afternoon’s lows. Investors looking ahead to this afternoon’s key US jobs data may be engaging in an element of profit taking, exacerbating the slide, as the precious metal’s strongest rally since October looks to be slowing.
It’s the first Friday of the month meaning today’s focus will be the afternoon’s US Jobs Report, not so much for the notorious volatility-inducing Non-Farm Payrolls (beware: yesterday’s ADP surprised to the downside) but for accompanying metrics. The unemployment rate is seen ticking up from December’s 9-yr low while wages growth accelerates, something which could imply rising inflationary pressures that force the Fed to hike more quickly in 2017.
In Europe this morning, UK Unit Labour Costs are seen cooling in Q3 while December Eurozone Confidence indicators improve slightly. Note Eurozone Retail Sales growth seen contracting in November and slowing over the year, although we did have a very mixed print from Germany earlier this morning with a month-on-month slump and yet a year-on-year acceleration.
In the afternoon, data includes US Factory Orders and Durable Goods with both seen falling in November. As usual to close the week, after the European close, the US Baker Hughes Rig Count will offer us the latest on stateside drilling trends in light of now higher oil prices driven by hopes of a OPEC-led production cut to solve the global supply glut. The Fed’s Evans, Lacker and Kaplan all speak this evening.
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