2nd Oct 2026 12:07
(Alliance News) - European stocks were on the up on Friday afternoon, though the FTSE 100 came off earlier highs, as investors look ahead to a US jobs report.
"The FTSE 100 picked itself up off the canvas on Friday, after being knocked for six by Thursday's aggressive selling in government bonds," AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented.
"Bond yields have stabilised for now, though are still elevated and within sight of multi-decade highs. This highlights concerns about inflationary pressures, the direction of interest rates, and the state of public finances, and threatens to diminish the appeal of equities. Brent crude oil prices are teetering around the USD100 per barrel mark. Fears of renewed escalation between the US and Iran overshadowed evidence that an increasing flow of oil is getting out of the Middle East."
The FTSE 100 index added 25.98 points, 0.3%, at 10,454.25. It eased from an intraday high of 10,503.15.
The FTSE 250 rose 83.33 points, 0.4%, at 24,226.54, and the AIM all-share climbed 4.69 points, 0.6%, at 786.73.
The Cboe UK 100 added 0.1% at 1,037.39, the Cboe UK 250 climbed 0.3% at 21,098.00, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.2% at 18,959.50.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris shot up 0.7% and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt surged 0.9%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are called 0.5% higher. The Nasdaq Composite is called up 0.8%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.23% midday Friday, narrowing from 5.30% late Thursday afternoon. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 5.60%, easing from 5.63%.
Focus on Friday is on the US nonfarm payrolls report. According to consensus cited by FXStreet, the US economy is expected to have added 90,000 jobs last month, cooling from 162,000 in August.
The data is released at 1330 BST.
Analysts at Peel Hunt commented: "Given very strong recent composite PMI readings on one side and a softening hiring trend on the other, the wage detail may matter more than the headline for an October decision that is still genuinely open."
Against the dollar, the euro bought USD1.1234 on Friday afternoon, easing from USD1.1238 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, but recovering from a year-to-date low of USD1.1215, which it sank to on Thursday.
Eurostat said annual consumer price inflation in the euro area accelerated to 3.8% in September from 3.2% in August, ahead of the FXStreet consensus of 3.6%.
Sterling traded at EUR1.1751 against the single currency, up from EUR1.1739 late Thursday afternoon. The pound traded at USD1.3209 against the greenback early Friday afternoon, up from USD1.3204. The dollar traded at JPY157.59, up from JPY157.48.
A barrel of Brent eased to USD100.22 midday Friday, from USD101.71 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. Gold climbed to USD4,179.16 an ounce from USD4,163.35.
In London, IG Group shares slumped 22%.
In a trading statement, the online trading platform said it now expects total revenue growth to be in a mid-single-digit per cent range year-on-year in 2026.
According to company compiled consensus, analysts forecast revenue of GBP1.26 billion in 2026 which would have been up 12% from 2025's GBP1.12 billion.
In July, IG said it expects to report at least 10% organic total compound annual revenue growth over the medium term.
Plus500 shares were as much as 11% lower after the IG update, though shares recovered some lost ground after a mid-morning statement in which it announced it is trading in line with market expectations amid a "strong" cash position.
The stock was down 4.9% midday Friday, the second worst FTSE 250 performer. CMC Markets was the worst, down 9.0%.
Trading platforms operator Plus500 said it "continued to perform strongly" after having posted "record" financial results and strategic progress for the first half of 2026.
The company confirmed that it continues to trade in-line with current market expectations announced back in August for 2026 and maintains a "strong" cash position.
"Although we will need to wait for the publication of the usual update later in the month for greater details on current trading, we anticipate investors responding positively to this update, especially given concerns over the potential negative read-across from IG Group's earlier update," Cavendish analysts commented.
BT Group was the best performer, adding 4.6%. The Financial Times reported BT has opened talks with UK government officials over a possible takeover of TalkTalk.
BT Chief Executive Allison Kirkby met with officials in the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport to gauge whether a possible bid for TalkTalk would lead to a lengthy competition watchdog probe, the FT reported. The FT cited three people familiar with the matter.
The FT added that two of the people said telecom firm BT is keen on buying TalkTalk's wholesale and retail businesses.
TalkTalk sells home broadband and phone services in the UK. Its PXC offering, meanwhile, supplies other telecom providers with internet connectivity services.
Elsewhere in London, Tooru rose 14%. The branded health and wellness sector firm reported its OAF gluten-free offering wins a "significant new listing with a new major UK retailer", in addition to its deal with Tesco PLC and Asda stores.
"The company expects two of its OAF gluten-free products to be launched in approximately 400 new stores in January 2027, representing a significant expansion of the brand's UK retail distribution. The board is delighted with the continued progress being made by OAF. The brand continues to perform strongly within both Tesco and Asda, where there has also been further expansion of both products and presence in stores," Tooru said.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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