Stock prices in London closed mixed on Wednesday following news that the US labour market added almost double the amount of jobs expected last month.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics’ report, due last Friday but delayed due to the brief US government shutdown, said non-farm payroll employment rose by 130,000 in January, up markedly from 48,000 in December and topping the FXStreet-cited consensus of 70,000. December’s reading was revised downward to 50,000.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 118.27 points, or 1.1%, at 10,472.11. The FTSE 250 ended down 52.76 points, 0.2%, at 23,416.54, and the AIM all-share closed down 0.47 points, 0.1%, at 815.29.
Stocks in New York were mostly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.1%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.17%, widening from 4.14%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.81%, widening from 4.78%.
In global news, World Trade Organisation director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said it was “at an inflection point” at a time when “questions are being raised about whether multilateral organisations are still relevant”.
“Multilateral organisations like us need to change to be fit for purpose, need to reform for the times,” she told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU.
“I don’t think the status quo is an option.”
The WTO has, among other things, long been handicapped by a rule requiring full consensus among members, meaning that decisions are few and far between.
Reform will be at the heart of the WTO’s ministerial meeting in Cameroon next month.
In European equities on Wednesday, the Cac 40 in Paris closed down 0.2%.
The Dax 40 in Frankfurt ended down 0.4%, after carmaker BMW announced that it is recalling hundreds of thousands of vehicles worldwide over a technical fault that could cause the cars to catch fire, and German flagship carrier Deutsche Lufthansa cancelled multiple flights ahead of planned strikes by pilots and cabin crew on Thursday.
BMW ended up 0.2%, while Lufthansa fell 4.0%.
The pound was quoted at 1.3640 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday, compared to 1.3661 on Tuesday. The euro stood at 1.1861 dollars, down against 1.1901.
Gold was quoted at 5,055.15 dollars an ounce, higher against 5,011.70.
Brent oil was quoted at 69.82 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday, down from 70.10 late on Tuesday.
Oil major BP was the fourth-highest FTSE 100 stock, up 3.9%, after it was among several foreign companies granted new Libyan oil exploration and production licences for the first time in 17 years.
Libya, a hydrocarbon-rich country, is seeking to draw major global energy companies back, while boosting daily oil production by 850,000 barrels over the next 25 years.
Other winners in the bidding round including Eni, up 1.8% in Milan, and Chevron, up 1.5% in New York.
On the FTSE 250, Renishaw closed up 5.0%.
The Gloucestershire-based firm supplier of manufacturing technologies, analytical instruments, and medical devices said revenue in the six months to December 31 rose 7.1% on-year to £365.6 million.
Adjusted pretax profit climbed 11% to £64.1 million, but statutory pretax profit declined 20% to £46.0 million. The interim dividend was maintained at 16.8 pence per share.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, up 222.00p at 3,870.00p, Persimmon, up 62.00p at 1,495.00p, London Stock Exchange, up 302.67p at 7,670.67p, BP, up 17.35p at 465.70p, and AstraZeneca, up 516.94p at 14,680.94p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were St James’s Place, down 194.00p at 1,255.00p, Relx, down 133.00p at 2,013.00p, Entain, down 27.11p at 600.49p, Sage Group, down 33.60p at 812.20p, and Babcock, down 42.73p at 1,321.27p.
On Thursday’s economic calendar, the UK releases GDP, trade balance, industrial production and other data. The US has initial jobless claims and existing home sales.
On Thursday’s UK corporate calendar, scheduled releases include full-year results from Unilever, Relx, Schroders and British American Tobacco.
