(Alliance News) -Â The FTSE 100 index rose slightly at the start of Friday's trading day, with the week's key risk event, US nonfarm payrolls, looming for London in the early afternoon.
Oil majors were propping up the blue-chip index as crude oil's rally resumed, while British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines rallied on a relaxation of the UK's travel hotel quarantine list.
The FTSE 100 index was up 11.00 points, or 0.2%, at 7,089.04 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up just 2.90 points at 22,562.12. The AIM All-Share index was down 1.17 points, or 0.1%, at 1,208.45.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.1% at 704.25. The Cboe 250 was flat at 20,378.33, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.2% at 15,397.87.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1% early Friday.
European markets started Friday's session on the front foot, but caution will dominate ahead of the monthly US jobs report at 1330 BST.
Analysts have pencilled in 488,000 new jobs in September, according to FXStreet, up from 235,000 in August.
A weak reading could endanger the US Federal Reserve's taper plans. "Anything lower than 300K, could throw the Fed out of balance," said AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam.
A disappointment could also heighten fears of stagflation, when economic growth stalls even as prices rise.
However, Aslam added: "Suppose the actual number comes out above the 500K mark, and especially above the 700K. In that case, we should imagine the upcoming meeting as a live meeting - meaning the taper announcement could take place during that event."
The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting to set US monetary policy is on November 3.
The dollar was on the front foot ahead of the jobs data.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3596 early Friday, down from USD1.3625 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro traded at USD1.1546 early Friday, easing from USD1.1566 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY111.97 versus JPY111.45.
In London, oil majors were leading the move higher as crude prices resumed their rally. Brent oil was trading at USD82.98 a barrel early Friday, jumping from USD81.76 late Thursday.
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares were up 1.7% in early dealings and 'B' shares up 1.6%, while peer BP rose 1.4%.
Shaking off worries over higher jet fuel prices, airline group IAG rose 2.5% on a further relaxation of UK travel rules. A total of 47 countries including South Africa, Mexico and Thailand will be removed from England's red list on Monday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced on Thursday.
Travellers arriving from those destinations will no longer need to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel at a cost of GBP2,285 for solo travellers. Just seven countries will remain on the red list following the changes - Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
Elsewhere, mid-cap student accommodation firm Unite fell 4.4% after warning that full-year earnings per share will be at the lower end of guidance due to a reduction in occupancy and rental income.
Unite said 94% of bed spaces are now let across its total portfolio as the lettings cycle for the 2021-22 academic year enters the final stages. This is up from 88% the year before but down from 98% two years ago - and below management expectations for 95% to 98% occupancy.
Unite warned it expects 2021 earnings per share of around 27 pence to 30p, at the lower end of guidance. It added that lower rental income in terms two and three of the 2021/22 academic year will reduce rental income for the 2022 financial year by around GBP8 million to GBP10 million compared to management's previous forecasts.
"We will seek to mitigate this impact on 2022 EPRA EPS through ongoing sales activity by targeting international students who may delay their arrival to the UK until the new year and the reintroduction of summer business in 2022. In addition, we are targeting cost savings from operational efficiencies resulting from lower occupancy," the company said.
Electrocomponents rose 1.5% after raising full-year guidance.
For the first half ended September 30, like-for-like revenue jumped 31% on a year ago, and was 22% higher compared with two years prior.
"Our trading has remained very strong across all regions as we have worked closely with suppliers to ensure our product availability, delivery and service offer remain robust, which has driven further growth in both customers and average order value. This has led to our financial performance to date being stronger than expected," said Chief Executive Lindsley Ruth.
However, Electrocomponents said it has continued to see higher outbound freight charges and labour inflation, which are "showing no signs of abating". This has partly offset improvements made in its gross margin.
Nonetheless, the electronic and industrial components maker now expects full-year revenue growth and adjusted operating profit margin to be slightly ahead of previous guidance. Back in July, the firm guided to low double-digit to mid-teens like-for-like revenue growth for the financial year ending March 31, 2022.
In Asia on Friday, the Shanghai Composite index ended up 0.7%, after the market reopened from a week-long holiday in China, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.4%.
Coinciding with mainland China's return from holiday, purchasing managers' index readings on Friday showed the country's services sector showed renewed and strong increases in both new work and output in September, as a recent fall in domestic Covid-19 cases boosted market conditions.
The composite output index rose to 51.4 points in September from 47.2 points in August, to signal a renewed expansion of total Chinese business activity. The 50 point threshold is what separates growth from decline. Data indicated that the upturn was driven by a renewed increase in services activity, as manufacturing output struggled somewhat.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended up 1.3% and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.9%.
Gold was quoted at USD1,754.70 an ounce, down from USD1,759.45 on Thursday.
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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