London stocks inched lower on Friday amid broader declines as investors were cautious ahead of a crucial jobs report in the United States, while an uptick in commodity prices helped limit losses.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.4%, after logging its worst day in more than three months on Thursday.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was off 1.2% by 0712 GMT. Both indexes are, however, on track to log weekly gains on upbeat corporate earnings.
US nonfarm payrolls data is on the radar and follows Thursday’s weak manufacturing data that stoked fears of an economic slowdown and weighed on investor sentiment globally.
In London, investment banking and brokerage stocks declined 1.8% after a 1.1% loss in the previous session.
Personal goods like Burberry fell more than 1% after Italian peer Salvator Ferragamo reported a 41% decline in its first-half operating profit.
On the brighter side, precious metal miners gained 0.7% as gold prices firmed on safe-haven demand and the prospect of a September cut in the US Banks extended their declines from the previous session with a 0.8% loss.
The sector had logged its worst day since February 2022 on Thursday on a quarter point rate cut by the Bank of England and as French lender Societe Generale cut its guidance for retail net interest income.
London’s FTSE 100 slips as corporate earnings, investor caution weigh
The British central bank delivered its first interest rate cut since 2020 on Thursday, bringing it down from a 16-year high, but said it would be cautious towards further cuts.
IAG Group climbed 3.85% to top the FTSE 100 after the British Airways owner terminated its proposed takeover of Spain’s Air Europa, citing regulatory environment concerns.
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