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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended lower on Friday as disappointing US jobs numbers snapped the FTSE 100's two-day winning streak, despite a rise from travel stocks after Ryanair upgraded its profit guidance.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 10.27 points, or 0.1% at 7,587.85. ending the week down 0.5%.
The FTSE 250 ended down 76.40 points, or 0.4% at 21,566.67, ending the week down 1.9%, and the AIM All-Share closed down 1.36 points, or 0.1% at 961.65, ending the week down 0.2%.
The Cboe UK 100 ended flat at 12,865.71, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.2% at 19,491.52, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.2% at 12,399.34.
In Paris the CAC 40 ended down 0.1%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended 0.1%.
"While we have seen a clear shift away from the US-Iran story, today's jobs report has seen the stock market rally hit the buffers. However, with a week ahead that will be dominated by Wednesday's US-China signing ceremony, President Donald Trump looks likely to take centre stage once again in a big to bolster market confidence," said IG Group's Josh Mahony.
Stocks in New York were mostly higher at the London equities close, as all three major indices hit new intraday highs amid continued optimism on US-China trade relations.
The phase one deal - struck last month - is set to reduce tariffs and boost Chinese purchases of US farm, energy and manufactured goods while addressing some disputes over intellectual property. It is expected to be signed next week.
The DJIA was down 0.2%, but the S&P 500 index was up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%.
On the economic front, employment in the US came in below economist consensus in December, data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 145,000 in December. The figure missed economist consensus of 164,000 new jobs.
In November, 256,000 jobs were added, well ahead of consensus, with that figure revised downwards slightly from the initially reported 266,000.
Average hourly earnings in December rose by 0.1% on November to USD28.32, following 0.3% growth in November, revised up from 0.2%. The December figure was short of consensus for 0.3% growth.
The unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, remaining at a 50-year low, according to the Labor Department.
Robert Alster, head of Investment Services at Close Brothers Asset Management said: "Decelerating hiring and wage growth shouldn't be a cause for concern in the context of the encouragingly tight US labour market. Unemployment is low, and wage growth remains healthily above inflation - this puts more money into consumers' pockets and supports economic growth.
"Trump will be relying on strong economic performance as his re-election campaign gets under way. Marginal US oil production has reduced global price volatility, but there remains a risk that further tension in the Middle East will disrupt supply, causing inflation. Separately, third quarter productivity delivered the biggest fall in nearly four years; if this continues, it may provide an unwelcome headwind to growth."
Elsewhere, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials Washington accused of working to destabilize the region, as well as against more than a dozen leading producers of metals in the Islamic republic.
In addition, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US believes it is "likely" that an Iranian missile downed a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 on board - which Iran has denied.
On the London Stock Exchange, airline operators International Consolidated Airlines and easyJet ended the top two blue chip performers, up 4.6% and 4.2% respectively, after peer Ryanair Holdings lifted profit guidance.
Ryanair upped its annual profit after tax guidance range to between EUR950 million and EUR1.1 billion, which could represent year-on-year hike of up to 19% from EUR885.0 million. It previously expected full-year profit after tax for the 12 months to March 31 to fall between the EUR800 million and EUR900 million range.
In an unscheduled statement, the airline said the festive period was "characterised by higher than expected close-in bookings at better than expected yields".
Further, Ryanair said forward bookings for January to April have risen year-on-year. The stock closed up 5.7%.
Just Eat closed up 0.6% at 889.15 pence after Naspers spinoff Prosus said its cash offer for takeaway ordering platform has lapsed with acceptances from just 158,037 shares or 0.02% of Just Eat's issues share capital.
The 800 pence per share offer from Prosus was not enough to see off rival Takeaway.com's all-share merger bid. As at 1300 GMT, the offer closing date, Prosus had not received enough acceptances to meet its acceptance condition, holding a that time no existing Just Eat shares.
The final offer has, therefore, lapsed, being no long open to acceptances and with accepting Just Eat shareholders no longer bound by their acceptances.
In the FTSE 250, Aston Martin Lagonda ended the best performer, up 15% after the Financial Times reported that Lotus and Volvo owner Geely was considering investing in the troubled luxury carmaker.
Earlier this week, the Valkyrie hypercar maker issued another profit warning due to continuation of challenging trading conditions. Aston martin added that it was continuing to review funding options, including a potential equity capital raise.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3061 at the London equities close, firm against USD1.3045 at the close Thursday.
The euro stood at USD1.1112 at the European equities close, flat from USD1.1100 late Thursday.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.60, firm against JPY109.50 late Thursday.
Brent oil was quoted at USD65.40 a barrel at the London equities close, flat from USD65.41 at the close Thursday.
Gold was quoted at USD1,559.30 an ounce at the London equities close, firm against USD1,550.20 late Thursday.
The economic events calendar on Monday has UK GDP readings, alongside industrial and manufacturing figures at 0930 GMT. Financial markets in Japan will be closed on Monday for the Coming of Age public holiday.
The UK corporate calendar on Monday has annual production results from iron pellet producer Ferrexpo and a trading statement from power control components maker XP Power.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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