London midday: Markets on the rise as investors wait for US September jobs report

3rd Oct 2014 12:01

UK stocks were on the rise at lunchtime on Friday, rebounding from Thursday's low as investors' eyes were focused on the US September jobs report which is due out this afternoon.At the midday point, the FTSE 100 was 55 points up to 6,501.47.The UK purchasing managers index for the services industry dropped to 58.7 in September from 60.5, more than the 59 expected by analysts. However, it remained markedly above its lifetime (1996-2014) average of 55.1 and substantially above the 50.0 level that denotes flat activity.Solid and improved new business growth in September, increased outstanding business, strong employment growth and increased business expectations paint a promising picture for the future of services activity in the fourth quarter."With the purchasing managers reporting still strong but slightly slower expansion in September, it seems unlikely that the Bank of England will hike interest rates before the end of this year," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS."It certainly looks a pretty safe bet that the Bank of England will keep interest rates at 0.50% at its October policy meeting next week."While two Monetary Policy Committee members again voted for a rate hike from 0.50% to 0.75% in September, the majority of the committee do not seem in any great hurry to act at the moment."In company news, easyJet was the top riser after increasing its outlook for the half year ended 30 September from between £545m and £570m to between £575m and £580m, thanks to a strong finish to the summer season, which saw increased revenue per seat.The group has also benefitted from the Air France pilots' strike in September is expected to increase easyJet's revenue by around £5m.TUI Travel registered a positive morning session after announcing on Thursday that it had lifted its forecast, thanks to German holidaymakers booking breaks following the country's World Cup victory. The airline lifted its underlying profit growth guidance for the year to 9pc, from a previous estimate of a rise between 7pc and 10pc.There was, however, more bad news for Tesco, with the retail giant the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 after losing over 3%.Market MoverstechMARK 2,766.59 +0.85%FTSE 100 6,497.84 +0.80%FTSE 250 15,201.73 +1.31%FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,458.00p +6.35%TUI Travel (TT.) 393.70p +3.58%Persimmon (PSN) 1,335.00p +3.09%United Utilities Group (UU.) 806.50p +2.80%Sports Direct International (SPD) 610.50p +2.60%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 356.90p +2.59%Carnival (CCL) 2,401.00p +2.48%ITV (ITV) 202.60p +2.43%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 628.20p +2.33%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 392.10p +2.27%FTSE 100 - FallersTesco (TSCO) 172.75p -3.06%Fresnillo (FRES) 732.00p -2.33%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,552.00p -1.66%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 156.40p -1.57%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 470.50p -1.07%Diageo (DGE) 1,741.50p -0.99%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,962.00p -0.87%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,121.00p -0.82%Antofagasta (ANTO) 693.00p -0.79%G4S (GFS) 249.50p -0.72%FTSE 250 - RisersRenishaw (RSW) 1,724.00p +8.43%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 838.50p +5.60%Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 320.60p +5.15%Pace (PIC) 304.00p +4.07%Amec (AMEC) 1,084.00p +3.73%Debenhams (DEB) 62.20p +3.67%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 808.00p +3.59%Workspace Group (WKP) 631.50p +3.52%Computacenter (CCC) 650.00p +3.34%Brit (BRIT) 243.30p +3.31%FTSE 250 - FallersKennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) 1,020.00p -3.68%Lonmin (LMI) 169.60p -3.47%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 215.00p -2.67%Evraz (EVR) 118.80p -2.22%Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 286.00p -0.69%Alent (ALNT) 327.00p -0.61%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 100.90p -0.39%Michael Page International (MPI) 418.30p -0.36%Premier Oil (PMO) 308.80p -0.32%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 119.50p -0.25%FTSE TechMARK - RisersRM (RM.) 157.75p +4.47%Skyepharma (SKP) 313.50p +3.12%E2V Technologies (E2V) 160.75p +0.78%Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 3.70p +0.68%Gresham Computing (GHT) 106.50p +0.47%Sepura (SEPU) 141.00p +0.36%Anite (AIE) 84.75p +0.30%KCOM Group (KCOM) 96.50p +0.26%Consort Medical (CSRT) 958.50p +0.21%FTSE TechMARK - FallersOptos (OPTS) 196.88p -1.44%Innovation Group (TIG) 28.75p -0.86%Vectura Group (VEC) 129.00p -0.77%NCC Group (NCC) 186.00p -0.40%IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 197.59 -0.12%Dialight (DIA) 923.50p -0.05%