.png){kind=logo}
The FTSE 100 opened 3.25 points lower at 10,834.77 amid cautious investor sentiment ahead of the US non-farm payrolls report, which will help determine if the Federal Reserve raises rates at its September 16 meeting. Brent crude futures rose 0.02% to USD 95.54 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 0.02% to USD 91.32 per barrel.
Sterling traded at USD 1.3533 early Friday, down slightly from USD 1.3536 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, it bought EUR 1.1634, down from EUR 1.1646.
On the upside, Computacenter climbed 3.45% to 5,555p. Melrose Industries advanced 1.67% to 505.60p, while Vodafone Group gained 1.59% to 124.25p. Halma rose 1.39% to 3,642p, Babcock International added 1.21% to 1,005p, and Spirax Group increased 1.17% to 6,940p.
On the downside, Experian fell 3.57% to 2,838p. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners declined 1.37% to 7,945p, while British American Tobacco dropped 1.37% to 4,097p. Coca-Cola HBC slipped 1.36% to 4,510p, London Stock Exchange Group lost 0.99% to 8,810p, and Rio Tinto edged 0.58% lower to 7,567p.
NVIDIA’s shares jumped overnight in the US after it announced its takeover of Hugging Face for USD 12.9 billion (GBP 9.57 billion), making it one of its biggest takeover deals.
NVIDIA hopes the takeover will give it access to open-source AI, helping offset a potential slowdown in semiconductor demand. Shares in NVIDIA gained 1.8% to USD 228.45.
Britain’s retail footfalls fell again in August despite cooler temperatures. Total footfall in the UK fell by 1.7% year on year in August, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Though shopping traffic fell at a slower rate than July’s 2.2 % yearly drop, the trade body said these figures are a reminder that the Treasury must deliver tax breaks to high street businesses at next month’s Budget.
In the US, the S&P 500 rose 1.06% to end at 7,747.71, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4% to 26,584.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 624.16 points, or 1.18%, to 53,686.11.
In Asia on Friday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1.26% to 65,020.94, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.86%, and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.64%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex rose by 0.25% and 0.74%, respectively.
Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp
_____________
Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance on cryptocurrencies and stocks. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be risky, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more about the financial risks involved here.
