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* Banks record biggest weekly rise since November 2020
* Aston Martin edges up on sales boost
* C&C Group down after December sales miss estimates
* FTSE 100 up 0.5%, FTSE 250 off 0.3%
(Updates to close)
Jan 7 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 rose on Friday to end the
first week of the year higher on support from heavyweight
banking and mining stocks, while investors sought to interpret
mixed U.S. jobs data and its impact on Federal Reserve policy.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 ended 0.5% higher,
rising for a third consecutive week with banks
and miners leading gains.
Barclays and HSBC Holdings were among the
top boosts on the index, tracking gains in benchmark bond yields
. Miners Anglo American and BHP Group
were the top gainers on strong metal prices.
UK bond yields rose for a fourth straight week and bank
stocks recorded their biggest weekly rise in nearly 14 months
after the Bank of England's first rate hike in mid-December and
hawkish comments from the U.S. Fed bolstered rate expectations.
The latest U.S. payrolls report showed weaker-than-expected
jobs growth, while the unemployment rate fell to pre-pandemic
levels of 3.9%.
The UK's benchmark index this week outperformed its European
peers and the domestically focussed midcap index, with both the
STOXX 600 and FTSE 250 ending the first week of the year lower.
"The FTSE 100 has underperformed over the past two years, so
it's less susceptible to the big sell-off seen in some of the
more highly valued areas of the market this week," Michael
Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index declined
0.3%.
Aston Martin jumped 6.6% after sales to dealers in
2021 surged 82%, even as the British luxury automaker forecast
lower-than-expected annual adjusted core earnings.
C&C Group fell 2.7% after the drinks maker's
December sales lagged expectations due to pandemic-related curbs
in the UK and Ireland.
British advertising group M&C Saatchi dropped 12.4%
after it said it did not see much merit in a possible all-share
takeover instigated by its biggest investor.
Software entrepreneur Vin Murria outlined plans for a tie-up
with an associated acquisition vehicle on Friday.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashank Nayar in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Jan Harvey)
