The FTSE 100 Index Closes 0.02% Lower

The FTSE 100 Index dropped 2 points or 0.02 percent on Friday to close at 10829 points. Losses were led by Experian (-4.37%), Prudential (-1.95%) and 3i (-1.93%). Offsetting the fall, top gainers were Computacenter (3.17%), Kingfisher (2.82%) and Vodafone (2.43%).

London’s FTSE 100 pared losses to close virtually flat at 10,831 on Friday, with traders digesting the latest US jobs report that strengthened bets on policy tightening. In the UK, gilt yields remain elevated, with long-dated yields recently reaching multi-decade highs. BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said that higher rates now could limit the risk of more aggressive tightening later to tackle inflation fuelled by the Iran war. Experian slipped over 4%, making it the worst performer, after FHFA Director Bill Pulte accused credit agencies of overcharging consumers and flagged possible reforms to boost competition. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and RELX followed, down around 2% each. On the upside, Computacenter rallied 4.1% after UBS raised its price target, while Vodafone gained 2.7% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘sell’ and lifted its price target to 155p from 85p. For the week, the index shed about 0.1%.

London’s FTSE 100 was little changed at around 10,830 points on Friday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of closely watched US jobs data. Bonds, meanwhile, found some relief after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller eased expectations of a near-term rate hike, sending the dollar lower. In the UK, Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill argued that raising interest rates now could reduce the risk of the central bank having to tighten policy more aggressively later to contain inflation, which has risen amid the fallout from the Iran war. Mining stocks were among the weakest performers, with Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Antofagasta each falling between 0.6% and 1%. Among individual movers, Barclays edged lower after announcing plans to more than double its banker headcount in its Singapore private-banking operation by 2030.