London’s top index was lifted by its oil majors and mining giants on Friday as it shrugged off disappointing jobs figures out of the US.
London’s top index was lifted by its oil majors and mining giants on Friday as it shrugged off disappointing jobs figures out of the US. T he FTSE 100 had added 0.3% to its value by the end of the day, despite US non-farm payrolls significantly undershooting expectations. It ended up 17.51 points to 7,095.55. Figures out of Washington showed that 194,000 jobs were added last month, below the half a million that had been forecast by analysts. “Overall however, given the above, markets seem to have taken it reasonably well, holding their ground and avoiding a major drop so far this afternoon,” said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp. The rising oil price, which hit a new three-year high on Friday, proved enough to help the FTSE out of any sluggishness. The price of Brent crude had increased by around 1.
