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Stocks ended a winning week on the front foot on Friday, while the pound pushed higher against the dollar after weak US jobs figures.
The FTSE 100 Index closed up 33.20 points, 0.3%, at 10,901.09.
The FTSE 250 ended up 159.44 points, 0.7%, at 24,854.86, another record close, while the AIM All-Share closed up 8.76 points, 1.1%, at 795.89.
For the week, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, the FTSE 250 was up 3.7%, and the AIM All-Share was up 4.0%.
The advance in the pound came as the US labour market unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs in July, missing the FXStreet-cited consensus for an increase of 80,000.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics also sharply revised lower previous months’ data, cutting June payroll growth to 20,000 from 57,000 and May’s reading to 63,000 from 129,000.
Combined, employment in May and June was revised down by 103,000 jobs.
Despite the weaker payrolls figures, the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged down to 4.1% in July from 4.2% in June, while annual wage growth slowed to 3.2% from 3.4%, below expectations for a 3.5% increase.
Thomas Feltmate, senior economist at TD Economics, said the report was “soft”, but “perhaps not as dire as suggested by the headline payrolls print”.
It will though help to “quiet the noise of a September rate hike”.
“The focus now shifts to next week’s CPI report, where we expect a milder print to provide further reassurance that the effects of the supply shocks are fading, reinforcing our view that the Fed is likely to remain on hold,” he added.
The data saw interest rate hike bets across the pond pared back.
The CME FedWatch tool now places a 58% chance that interest rates will be left unchanged at the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting, compared with 45% on Thursday.
Ahead of that meeting, there will be two inflation readings, another jobs report and the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium.
The pound traded at 1.3498 dollars on Friday afternoon, up from 1.3454 dollars at the equities close on Thursday.
The euro stood higher at 1.1560 dollars against 1.1524 dollars.
Against the yen, the dollar was lower at 157.68 yen, compared with 158.41 yen.
Against the euro, sterling was little changed at 1.1677 euros from 1.1675 euros.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury trimmed to 4.65% on Friday from 4.66% on Thursday.
The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was flat at 5.20%.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.7% higher.
Stocks in New York were higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%, the S&P 500 index was 0.7% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.3%.
Airbnb soared 15% after it raised guidance for the second quarter in a row after better-than-expected earnings.
In its second quarter, the San Francisco-based holiday rental platform said it “exceeded our outlook across every key metric”.
Chief executive Brian Chesky said that “more new guests are trying Airbnb than we’ve seen in years”, pointing out that growth among first-time bookers accelerated to 11%, the highest growth rate “we have seen in four years”.
Back in London, Fresnillo rose 4.6% as the gold price’s recent rally continued.
The yellow metal traded higher at 4,349.35 dollars an ounce on Friday from 4,250.01 dollars on Thursday.
The price rise supported Endeavour Mining, up 4.1%, and Hochschild Mining, up 6.2%.
Diageo extended Thursday’s gains, climbing 3.3%, on further reflection of its annual results and a new strategic plan from chief executive Dave Lewis.
JPMorgan analyst Celine Pannuti was impressed, saying: “We found Dave Lewis down to earth, decisive and transparent approach inspiring, and should no doubt elevate the performance culture.”
Nonetheless, she sees “limited room for a rerating for now until we see signs of improved top line trajectory”.
Citigroup’s Simon Hales called it an “honest assessment of the spirits market and the state of its business”.
Although there is “no quick fix to return the US business back to growth, Diageo has diagnosed the problems and is sensibly taking actions to remedy what it can control”, he added.
On the FTSE 250, Goodwin stormed 9.8% higher as it confirmed it has launched a strategic review, including considering the potential sale of a substantial part of its Mechanical Engineering division.
Recruiters Hays and Michael Page were in demand, up 5.8% and 3.8% respectively, continuing their rebound on hopes for a revival in the jobs market.
Hays’ share price has now more than doubled from a low of below 30p seen in April.
But Oxford BioMedica plunged 15% as it lowered revenue expectations for 2026, due to client programme deferrals, delayed timelines, changes to a large client’s procurement strategy and a later-than-expected operational ramp-up at its Durham, North Carolina site.
The cell and gene therapy manufacturer cut its full-year revenue forecast by 17% to between £180 million and £200 million, from its original prediction of between £220 million and £240 million.
Brent oil for October delivery traded higher at 83.40 dollars a barrel on Friday afternoon, from 81.74 dollars late on Thursday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, up 126p at 2,864p, Endeavour Mining, up 158p at 4,046p, Diageo, up 57.5p at 1,790p, St James’s Place, up 29.5p at 1,147p, and Convatec, up 5.6p at 232.4p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Burberry Group, down 30.5p at 1,164.5p, Glencore, down 9p at 557p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, down 115p at 7,950p, Computacenter, down 56p at 4,828p and Shell, down 37.5p at 3,277.5p.
Monday’s global economic calendar sees the start of the two-day Reserve Bank of Australia meeting, and trade figures in Japan.
Later in the week, US inflation figures and UK economic growth data will be released.
Monday’s UK corporate calendar has half-year results from building, roofing and landscaping products manufacturer Marshalls.
English (US) ·