London open: Stocks gain as US jobless claims allay fears

(Sharecast News) - London stocks gained in early trade on Friday following a positive session on Wall Street, as stronger-than-expected jobless claims numbers eased concerns about the US economy. At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,169.54.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "In the US, the initial jobless claims number - which on a weekly basis is of limited interest to investors - took on fresh significance, with the better-than-expected reading breathing new life into what has generally been a positive year for markets.

"It adds to a pleasing service sector report earlier this week, implying that perhaps the non-farm payrolls figure was an exception to the rule, and that the US will be able to manage a soft economic landing after all."

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were on the rise, with Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore and Rio Tinto all up.

Hargreaves Lansdown advanced after it agreed to be taken over by private equity firms CVC Group, Nordic Capital and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund in a £5.4bn deal.

Bellway was in the black as the housebuilder said it expected to return to growth in fiscal 2025 if market conditions remain stable, with signs of an upturn in the market after the recent cut in interest rates.

The company said total housing completions fell to 7,654 homes in the year to July 31 from 10,945 a year ago at an overall average selling price of around £308,000 compared with £310,306 in 2023 - both slightly ahead of previous guidance.

Housing revenue came in at £2.35bn, down from £3.4bn and the underlying operating margin is expected to be around 10% against 16.0% last year.

Rightmove also rose after it said late on Thursday that it had reached a new agreement with OpenRent.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,169.54 0.30% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,558.38 0.24% techMARK (TASX) 4,775.44 0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,272.50p 2.27% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,854.00p 2.21% Rightmove (RMV) 544.00p 2.18% Entain (ENT) 561.80p 2.15% Beazley (BEZ) 720.50p 2.13% Glencore (GLEN) 410.85p 1.90% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,885.00p 1.53% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,005.00p 1.51% easyJet (EZJ) 429.50p 1.46% Fresnillo (FRES) 542.00p 1.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,092.00p -0.90% GSK (GSK) 1,552.00p -0.51% Unilever (ULVR) 4,759.00p -0.46% British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,791.00p -0.43% Darktrace (DARK) 593.20p -0.40% Haleon (HLN) 372.10p -0.40% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,190.00p -0.38% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,280.50p -0.31% Tesco (TSCO) 328.00p -0.30% Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,622.00p -0.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers

AO World (AO.) 115.00p 3.98% NCC Group (NCC) 155.40p 3.74% Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,080.00p 3.25% Softcat (SCT) 1,595.00p 2.70% Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 748.00p 2.61% Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 76.20p 2.56% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,096.00p 2.24% Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,099.50p 2.04% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 69.00p 2.00% Assura (AGR) 41.50p 1.97%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ninety One (N91) 157.10p -3.97% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 63.00p -3.08% Mony Group (MONY) 210.40p -2.68% Elementis (ELM) 146.00p -2.01% Witan Inv Trust (WTAN) 258.00p -1.71% SSP Group (SSPG) 160.00p -1.60% Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 2,925.00p -1.52% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 5,410.00p -1.46% Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 148.80p -1.33% Keller Group (KLR) 1,562.00p -1.26%