Friday Morning Markets: FTSE 100 Slips, FTSE 250 Ticks Higher as Traders Await US Jobs Data

London’s FTSE 100 opened flat on Friday before edging around 0.2% lower, while the FTSE 250 edged up 0.3%.

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European peers were similarly subdued. The DAX has added 0.2%, while the CAC 40 and Stoxx 50 are both flat as investors braced for a pivotal US non-farm payrolls and unemployment report due later today, which could reshape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next move.

Geopolitical risk remained in focus with the US-Iran conflict continuing to impact sentiment.

In commodities, gold has nudged up 0.2% to $4,482/oz, silver is flat at $66.97, while oil slipped, with Brent down 0.3% to $95.10 and WTI off 0.6% at $90.75.

On the corporate front, Thursday saw several broker moves, with Morgan Stanley upgrading Shell to Overweight and lifted its Vodafone target to 125p; Piper Sandler raised targets on both Shell and BP; Citi bumped its AB Foods target to 1,550p; and Berenberg initiated Prudential at Buy.

GSK also struck a commercialisation deal with Hutchmed for HMPL-A830.

Among today’s early movers, Renishaw led FTSE 250 gainers, up 5.74%, while Computacenter (+3.45%) extended recent strength ahead of its results.

Vodafone (+1.72%) and Melrose Industries (+1.67%) have both made gains. XPS Pensions (+4.78%) and Softcat (+2.05%) also feature among 250 risers.

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On the downside, Experian tumbled 3.67% after a Reuters report cited a US official accusing the major credit bureaus of “overcharging for too long.”

British American Tobacco and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners slipped around 1.4% apiece. Oxford Nanopore was the biggest 250 faller, down 6.75%, giving back some of its recent surge tied to its new CEO’s growth ambitions.

After the close of the US session on Thursday, Lululemon stock tumbled following its latest qurterly earnings, while Docusign gained after its release.