- FTSE 100 closes 33 points down at 7,690
- House prices rise for third month in a row
- WPP rises on Kantar Media sale reports
4:45pm: FTSE closes lower
London stocks finished the week lower at 7,690 points for a loss of 0.4% on the day.
3:55pm: NatWest chair cricised over 'out of touch' remarks
The chairman of NatWest has been invited to "spend a week in the real world" after making "out of touch" remarks suggesting it is currently not too difficult for people to get on the housing ladder in Britain.
Property experts have reacted to comments made by Sir Howard Davies during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday.
Asked when he thinks it will become easier for people to get on the property ladder, Sir Howard said: "I don't think it is that difficult at the moment. You have to save, and that is the way it always used to be."
Sir Howard then went on to explain that first-time buyers have to save more for a deposit on a home, to avoid the dangers of taking out higher-risk mortgages – which was more common before the 2008 financial crisis.
In a statement following the interview, Sir Howard said his comments were meant to reflect the fact that "access to mortgages is less difficult than it has been", and he insisted he "did not intend to underplay the serious challenges" people face when buying a home.
3:15pm: Pound reverses falls to bounce back after jobs data
Sterling has done an about turn after initially falling in the wake of the US jobs report.
The pound is trading back above $1.27 as investors continue to mull the strong report.
Craig Erlam at Oanda said while the US data may disappoint some hopes for an early interest rate cut,it is no game changer.
"Today has, along with the FOMC minutes on Wednesday, brought an early setback," he said.
"But I don't think either ultimately changes anything as far as the rest of the year is concerned. The labor market is still slowing gradually and while wages were a little stronger, the broader trend remains very promising."
2:42pm: FTSE off lows as US markets shurg off strong jobs report
US markets have confounded initial expectations to open modestl higher, despite the strong jobs report.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was a touch higher at 37,446.30, the S&P 500 was up 10.01 points, 0.2%, at 4,698.69 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 33.83 points, 0.2%, at 14,544.14.
Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at Ebury, said the report should "take plenty of pressure off the Federal Reserve to begin lowering rates as soon as its March FOMC meeting."
Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics agreed.
He thinks the payrolls number plus a second consecutive 0.4% month-on-month gain in average hourly earnings "means that this labour market report will trigger a further paring back of expectations for a March rate cut."
But he added, at this stage, all that really matters for the Fed is the CPI and PPI data, due next week, “which we expect to be more supportive of early action from the Fed.”
He pointed out the gain last month, was not quite as good as it looks at first glance.
“Gains in the preceding two months were revised down by a cumulative 71,000,” he explained, while the increase in December was once again concentrated in only a few non-cyclical sectors.
Back in London, and the FTSE 100 is well early lows, down 43 points at 7,680.
1:46pm: Pound falls, stock steady after hot US jobs report
The US jobs report has been released and it’s a strong number, sending US stock futures a touch lower than before the release.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 in December, above the 170,000 consensus.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%, compared to expectations of a slight increase to 3.8%.
December non-farm payrolls stronger than expected across the board. pic.twitter.com/EmBzyyLDwh
— Gary Black (@garyblack00) January 5, 2024
Employment continued to trend up in government, health care, social assistance, and construction, while transportation and warehousing lost jobs, the report showed.
But average hourly earnings ticked up 0.4% in December from November, taking the annual increase to 4.1%.
Both figures were stronger than forecast.
The labor force participation rate, at 62.5%, and the employment-population ratio, at 60.1%, both decreased by 0.3 percentage point in December.
Alongsde the move in equity futures, the dollar has rallied as investors bet interest rates will not be cut in the near-term.
1:05pm: NatWest chair sees slow drop in interest rates
Sir Howard Davies, the chair of NatWest, has warned that we could see a “rather slow reduction in interest rates” this year because “wage expectations are quite high”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Davies said because the Bank of England was criticised for being slow to raise interest rates when inflation shot up, policymakers will be careful when they reduce borrowing costs.
“Even at the last meeting in December, three of the nine members of the [Monetary Policy Committee] committee still voted for a further increase in rates. “
“So they’re quite a long way away at the moment from a majority in favour of a reduction in rates.”
He said there is a risk of that, having been burned once by reacting too slowly.
“They are now going to be rather cautious in coming down,” he added.
“Wage expectations are quite high and that if you read the recent speeches from the Bank of England, thats what’s worrying them the most,” he noted.
Davies also attracted a few headlines after claiming it claiming it was easy to buy a house.
12:41pm: Peel Hunt upbeat on Clarkson after strong trading
As expected, shares in Clarkson have jumped after today’s trading statement.
Shares are up 8.7% after the firm said it expects pre-tax profit to be ahead of consensus.
Peel Hunt noted it now anticipates underlying pre-tax profit to be not less than £108 million, ahead of “our top-of-the-range forecast of £103 million and the consensus mean of £100.5 million.”
The broker explained there is very little correlation between the Clarksea index, a representation of average shipping day rates weighted by fleet size, and Broking profits, which benefited from increases in market share and disruption in the Red Sea and Panama canal, robust rates in gas, tanker, offshore and car carriers, as well as a $216 million order book of term charter and other business entering 2023.
The green transition is also providing considerable business opportunities for the group, which is also playing a significant role in the enforcement of trade sanctions, it noted.
“We remain very positive on the outlook, with limited supply growth outside of container ships and the group able to provide significant value to customers through its skills, information and digital workflow platform, Sea,” Peel Hunt said.
12:08pm: WPP a rare riser on Kantar Media sale reports
Leading the FTSE 100 risers is WPP PLC (LSE:WPP), up 2.6%, after Sky reported that Kantar Media is to be put up for sale.
Kantar Media is a division of the Kantar market research giant which employs 25,000 people around the world.
Sky cited City sources saying that Bain Capital, Kantar's majority owner, was in the process of appointing investment bankers to oversee a sale process.
Exclusive: Kantar Media, which manages Britain’s BARB TV audience measurement system, is to be put up for sale in a deal that could deliver a £1bn-plus windfall for buyout firm Bain Capital and marketing services group WPP, Kantar Group’s two shareholders. https://t.co/BYeZkYvd60
— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) January 5, 2024
Industry insiders said that Kantar Media could be worth as much as £1 billion, the report added.
Bain acquired a 60% stake in Kantar in 2019 in a deal which valued the research and analytics group at about £3.2 billion.
The remaining 40% stake continues to be owned by WPP, the FTSE 100 group.
Kantar Media conducts broadcast audience measurement in 62 countries, including France, Spain, Norway and parts of Latin America.
12:00pm: US future point downwards ahead of payrolls
It's looking like another ugly start on Wall Street although that could all change with the usually influential US jobs report to come.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%, while those for the S&P 500 were 0.3% lower and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.4%.
Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets said the session “will be dominated by the latest jobs report, with markets looking for signs of weakness that might further embolden bulls over the potential for a March rate cut from the Fed.”
“Expectations of a rise in unemployment and weaker payrolls do highlight the possibility of a “bad news is good news” response from markets, with equity bulls hoping to see payrolls remain under pressure for the time being,” he added.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) estimates nonfarm payrolls rose 190,000 in December, above the market consensus of 175,000.
Its forecast reflects a favourable swing in the December seasonal factors worth roughly 50,000 and a boost from mild winter weather, as snowfall was minimal in major cities in the Northeast and Midwest.
It predicts that the unemployment rate will stay unchanged at 3.7%, compared to consensus of a rebound to 3.8% and estimates a 0.30% increase in average hourly earnings month-on-month that lowers the year-on-year rate by one tenth to 3.9%.
Back in London, and the FTSE 100 is down 70 points at 7,653.
11:32am: ING sees first Euro rate cut in June
ING Economics is backing its expectation of a first rate cut by the ECB in June following today's inflation figures which showed an rise from 2.4 to 2.9%, mainly due to fading energy base effects.
ING's Bert Colijn said the increase "serves as a reminder that interest rate cuts in the first quarter are unlikely but this shouldn’t dispel expectations of cuts later in the year."
"We stick to our expectation of a first cut in June," he said.
He said demand remains weak, which is a very important disinflationary driver right now, and inventories are high, making current supply chain concerns much less inflationary than the ones from 2021.
He feels overall, the outlook for inflation "continues to be quite benign and we expect eurozone inflation to be around 2% again by the end of the year."
11:26am: EY sees a year of stability for UK house prices
Martin Beck, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, thinks two factors have led to a more modest correction in UK house prices than expected.
Firstly, unemployment has remained low, and secondly, the rise in mortgage interest rates has been much more protracted than in the past, reflecting a shift in the mortgage stock from variable to fixed rate.
Both factors have kept forced sales down and limited supply, he suggested.
Beck thinks this recovery should continue as mortgage rates continue to drift down and lower inflation makes for a likely more predictable macroeconomic outlook.
The fact that the ratio of house prices to average earnings is down by over a tenth since the 2022 peak, reflecting a fall in prices alongside strong growth in wages, should also support demand, he added.
The EY ITEM Club thinks 2024 will now be a year of stability, rather than falls, in property values.
10:53am: Lloyds is BofA's top UK banking pick
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) is Bank of America's top UK banking pick.
In a note to clients, the broker said "a shallower margin decline, more non interest income support and a substantial Q4 buyback make Lloyds our top pick."
"In contrast we see weak profitability and capital distributions from underperform-rated Barclays and VMUK," it added.
BofA said if recent sharp falls in market interest rate expectations play out, they will accelerate deposit spread compression in 2024 and moderate subsequent margin expansion but also support volumes and asset quality.
The bank has cut 2024 earnings by 7-12%, with bigger reductions for 2025 but noted earnings are at or above consensus for 'buy' rated Lloyds and NatWest where it sees low-mid teens RoTEs and sustained mid teens yields.
BofA reckons domestic UK banks net interest margins will continue falling to the third quarter this year, with Lloyds the most resilient, before a recovery in 2025.
It also said that after lacklustre 2023 loan growth, there are signs of improvement.
Mortgage rates have been falling and house prices and housing sentiment modestly improving, it pointed out.
"Non interest income can help to offset margin pressure, particularly for Barclays where it contributes 50% of income and for Lloyds where we expect continued high single digit growth," it said.
Lloyds is rated 'buy' with a 59p price target, with NatWest also a 'buy' with a 290p price target.
10:27am: Eurozone inflation creeps higher but still below forecast
Adding to the nerves that rate cut may come later than the market had hoped Eurozone inflation rose to 2.9%, after six months of decelerating price growth.
Ths will no doubt spark questions over how soon the European Central Bank will start cutting interest rates.
The annual rise of consumer prices was up from a more than two-year low of 2.4% per cent in the previous month but was slightly lower than the 3% expected by economists.
#transitory, apparently.
Eurozone inflation rose to 2.9 per cent in December https://t.co/Mk9cu6LMrn via @financialtimes
— Richard Yetsenga 叶森 ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? (@ricyet) January 5, 2024
The reduction of government subsidies on gas, electricity and food that began last year has triggered a re-acceleration of annual inflation in much of Europe.
This has led investors to scale back their bets on the likelihood of the ECB starting rate cuts as early as March.
10:17am: Endeavour's CEO departure 'near-term headwind'
UBS thinks the termination of Endeavour Mining CEO’s contract is negative for the investment case as Sébastien de Montessus played an important role in shaping EDV's strategy, growth, and development over many years.
The broker believes his relationships with the investment community/key representatives in host countries (Burkina Faso, Senegal & Cote d' Ivoire) have been critical factors in EDV's success.
But it stressed the decision does not impact EDV's operations or its financial position and it does not expect it to alter its exploration focused growth strategy.
UBS said it was a "near-term headwind but unlikely to impact strategy & execution."
UBS questioned how long his named replacement Ian Cockerill would stay in the role and whether it would be long enough to build long-term relationships.
Nonetheless, UBS retained its ‘buy’ rating.
“In our view it is difficult to find good gold companies; but we like EDV's low cost position, good execution track record, organic growth, dividends, exploration upside and believe this offsets elevated country risks that have historically been well managed,” it said.
10:05am: Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) sticks with May rate cut call, risks skewed to later move
The debate over when interest rates will be cut seems to be dominating the mood this week with over optimistic hopes being pared back.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell noted “rate cuts now look as if they are going to be a story for the middle of the year and that’s prompted investors to temporarily pause for thought, leading to bouts of profit taking from the recent rally.”
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s Bruna Skarica is sticking with her call for the first UK rate cut to be in May but admits risks are “skewed towards a later start to BoE cuts.”
She explained this reflected the ‘house call’ for the Fed and the ECB to move in June, not March/April as the market is currently pricing.
In addition, there is less urgency for the BoE to act with receding chances of a deep recession, she believes.
“And finally, while we believe the near-term disinflation story, given last year's sharp increases in prices around April and May (i.e. the start of the fiscal year), the MPC might want to wait for inflation data over 2Q24 before acting,” she said.
“Hence, while we maintain our base case, we judge the risks to be a bit more hawkish than the market pricing currently implies,” Skarica added.
9:44am: Construction downturn eases - S&P
The downturn in the construction sector eased in December, figures showed today.
Figures from S&P Global showed another solid fall in UK construction activity in December, but the rate of decline eased to the slowest since the current phase of decline began last September.
A sustained slump in house building was the main factor holding back construction output, reflecting elevated interest rates and subdued confidence among clients.
At 46.8 in December, the headline S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index was below the neutral 50.0 mark for the fourth month running but was up from 45.5 in November and the highest for four months.
UK Construction PMI (Dec) act: 46.8, exp: 46.1, prev: 45.5
— Michael Hewson ???????? (@mhewson_CMC) January 5, 2024
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Construction companies experienced another fall in business activity at the end of 2023 as weak order books meant a lack of new work to replace completed projects."
"House building was the worst-performing area of construction activity, but even in this segment there were signs that the downturn has started to ease," he noted.
Encouragingly, he noted expectations of falling interest appear to have supported confidence levels among construction companies.
"December data indicated that 41% of construction firms predict a rise in business activity over the course of 2024, while only 17% forecast a decline," he pointed out.
9:31am: China ups ante in EU trade dispute investigating French brandy imports
Staying in Europe, and China has launched a new investigation into French brandy imports, escalating a trade dispute between Beijing and Brussels.
Officials at the commerce ministry said its anti-dumping probe into brandy imported from the European Union followed complaints from the domestic brandy industry.
It comes four months after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen complained of a flood of low-cost Chinese electric vehicles hitting Europe and launched an investigation into Beijing’s support for the industry.
At the time, Brussels warned of likely Chinese retaliation.
9:22am: European markets slip amid weak German retail sales
The mood is no brighter in Europe with the Dax in Frankfurt down 0.6% and the Cac-40 in Paris down 0.9%.
Not helping is news that retail sales in Germany fell more sharply than expected in November, dragging the figure for the first 11 months of the year down more than 3% and pointing to continued weakness in Europe’s largest economy.
The federal statistical office said retailers’ sales of goods fell 2.5% in November compared with October, meaning they were down 3.3% since the start of the year after adjusting for inflation.
German retail sales for November have come in FAR worse than expected. Forecasts were at -0.5% but the number came in at -2.5% month on month. Spluttering. pic.twitter.com/6R7KeFumG9
— Longview Economics (@Lvieweconomics) January 5, 2024
Economists had forecast a 0.1% drop in November.
Consumer spending has been hit by a surge in the cost of living, high interest rates, falling house prices and economic stagnation.
9:00am: Blue-chips downbeat ahead of US jobs report
It’s a bleak morning for blue-chips with just 10 stocks in the green.
Endeavour Mining remains out of favour, down 12.3%, followed by IMI, RS, Mondi and Diageo.
In the absence of any major market moving news in the UK, much will now depend on the US jobs report later today.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown explained the data “will help mould expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision, which has read-across for the fortunes of the UK.”
If the labour market shows signs of being too hot, it could add weight to the idea that rates will need to be held or raised, she said.
Lund-Yates pointed out expectations for rate cuts in March have “come off the boil” compared to a week ago, but this remains the market’s prediction overall.
“This is by no means guaranteed though – Fed commentary and market expectations aren’t fully on the same page,” she added.
8:35am: Hopes for early rate cut pushed back
Markets remain downbeat as the weak start to 2024 continues.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, commented: “Markets have stalled in the first week of trading this year, unable to carry through last month’s momentum in the face of renewed concerns around the amount, pace and timing of potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts."
"The minutes from the latest Fed meeting earlier in the week appeared to dash any hopes of an imminent cut."
"While there was an admission that rates had peaked, the previous mantra of higher for longer seemed to remain firmly intact, dependent on economic data and inflation in particular."
"Despite this reiteration, market consensus is still pencilling in the first cut in March, although with rather less conviction than before, with the most likely timing now moving out to May," he noted.
8:10am: FTSE slips as investors push back hopes of early rate cut
The FTSE 100 opened lower ahead of the US jobs report while Endeavour Mining plunged after firing its CEO for “serious misconduct.”
At 8:15am, London’s blue-chip index was down 44.60 points, 0.6%, at 7,678.47 while the FTSE 250 was down 79.98 points, 0.4%, at 19,292.07.
Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said the “recent extended Santa Claus rally has turned into a little bit of a memory with the New Year hangover continuing as we welcome in yet another payrolls Friday today.”
Figures yesterday pointed to a resilient US economy and labour market dampening hopes of an early cut to rates.
“With the data looking more promising, yesterday saw investors grow increasingly sceptical about the likelihood of a rate cut by March,” Reid pointed out.
“For the Fed, the probability of a 25bp cut by March was down to 69% by the close, which is its lowest since the December meeting,” he noted.
Back in London, Endeavour Mining led the blue-chip fallers, sliding 9.2%, after sacking its CEO Sébastien de Montessus, for serious misconduct with immediate effect (see 7:16am update).
The gold miner said the decision followed an investigation into an irregular payment instruction issued by De Montessus, amounting to $5.9 million, in relation to an asset disposal undertaken by the company.
Separately, allegations were made against de Montessus relating to his personal conduct with colleagues.
De Montessus said in response that he was given “48 hours’ notice of the concerns and no proper opportunity to answer them” and is taking his time to consider his position with his advisers.
While admitting a “lapse in judgment” for not informing the board of the arrangement, he said that “the decision had no additional cost to the company and did not benefit me personally in any way”.
7:55am: UK footfall slumps in December - BRC
UK retail footfall slumped in the final month of the year, with rainy weather keeping shoppers away from the high street, numbers on Friday showed.
According to the latest British Retail Consortium-Sensormatic IQ data, footfall in UK retail destinations declined 5.0% on-year in December, worsening from a 0.7% fall in November.
"December's heavy rain left many shoppers reluctant to brave the elements, who instead opted to browse online before making final purchases, or shop online altogether. This led to a substantial decline in footfall levels compared to December 2022, when there was significant pent-up demand for in-store shopping post Covid-restrictions," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.
Largely, it was an underwhelming month of footfall for the retail sector, Sensormatic analyst Andy Sumpter commented.
Sumpter added: "While we saw festive glimmers of shopper traffic peaks in and around discounting days, such as Boxing Day when footfall improved 39.2% week-on-week, many may have been waiting for a last-minute Christmas trading rush that never came.
7:43am: Clarkson sees profit ahead of expectations
It's a pretty quiet morning for company news but it could be a good day for shareholders in Clarkson PLC (LSE:CKN).
The provider of integrated shipping services said following strong trading throughout the three final months of the year, particularly from the Broking division, results for the year ending 31 December 2023, are now anticipated to be ahead of current market expectations.
Clarkson said underlying pre-tax profit is now expected to be not less than £108 million.
In August, the firm reported pre-tax profit in the six months ended June 30 increased 24% to £52.2 million, from £42.0 million year-on-year.
Revenue in the half year rose 20% to £321.1 million, from £266.7 million from the year before.
Full-year results will be reported on March 4.
7:39am: Estate agents see better 2024 for housing market
Some reaction to the house price data from those close to the action.
Foxtons (LSE:FOXT) CEO, Guy Gittins, said the figures “provide further proof that despite a tough year, the UK property market has seen 2023 out on the front foot.”
“This growing positivity has no doubt been bolstered by the resulting stability of a freeze on interest rates and the market is now poised for what we expect to be a much better year,” he thinks.
CEO of Yopa, Verona Frankish said there’s “now no doubt that the market is heading in the right direction.”
“Not only have house prices climbed for three consecutive months, but both the quarterly and annual rates of growth have also increased despite an extremely testing year for the market,” she added.
“With rates currently frozen and expected to fall, we simply don’t anticipate the market to decline in 2024 having already weathered the worst of the storm.”
7:36am: UK house prices rise for third month in a row
UK house prices rise for third consecutive month, according to latest figures.
Halifax said average house prices rose by 1.1% in December, and by 1.7% overall in 2023
The typical UK home now costs £287,105, just over £3,000 more than last month, the lender said.
Average #house prices rose by 1.1% in December, the third monthly rise in a row, says Halifax. It said property prices grew 1.7% overall in 2023. A typical UK home now costs £287,105, just over £3,000 more than last month pic.twitter.com/nWd0IMsSoZ
— simon read (@simonnread) January 5, 2024
Looking forward to 2024, Halifax predicts house prices will fall by between 2% and 4% in 2024.
Kim Kinnaird, Director, Halifax Mortgages, said the growth “we have seen is likely being driven by a shortage of properties on the market, rather than the strength of buyer demand.”
“That said, with mortgage rates continuing to ease, we may see an increase in confidence from buyers over the coming months.”
7:16am: Endeavour Mining boss fired over allegations of ‘serious misconduct’
More on the news late Thursday that Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF) has fired its President & Chief Executive Sébastien de Montessus, for alleged "serious misconduct" with immediate effect.
De Montessus said in response that he was given “48 hours’ notice of the concerns and no proper opportunity to answer them” and is taking his time to consider his position with his advisers.
The gold miner with assets in nations including Senegal and Burkina Faso said the decision followed an investigation into an irregular payment instruction issued by De Montessus in relation to an asset disposal undertaken by the company.
Oof! Quite the scandal at London-listed £1bn African gold miner Endeavour Mining. Boss fired for unauthorised $5m payment from company accounts and whistleblower claims about personal conduct with colleagues.
And many analysts had just been tipping it as a share to watch … pic.twitter.com/0GgXAxLZzl
— Ashley Armstrong (@AArmstrong_says) January 4, 2024
The irregular payment instruction amounted to $5.9 million and was discovered in the course of a review of acquisitions and disposals, which is ongoing.
Separately, in October 2023 allegations were made against de Montessus through the company’s confidential whistleblowing channel relating to his personal conduct with colleagues.
De Montessus said that he instructed a creditor in 2021 to offset a sum owed to Endeavour to pay for essential security equipment to protect its partners and employees in a conflict zone.
While admitting a “lapse in judgment” for not informing the board of the arrangement, he said that “the decision had no additional cost to the company and did not benefit me personally in any way”.
Ian Cockerill (currently Deputy Chair of the Board) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director with immediate effect.
7:00am: Stocks called lower, Endeavour Mining fires CEO
The FTSE 100 is expected to open lower on Friday with investors awaiting the US jobs report for further clues as to the path of interest rates.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index down around 42 points after closing up 40.74 points, 0.5%, at 7,723.07 on Thursday.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mostly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average marginally higher, the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.6%.
"After such a surprisingly resilient end to 2023 it is perhaps not surprising that we've got off to a more subdued start to the New Year given that a lot of the reason for the December rally was down to heightened expectations of multiple rate cuts from central banks over the next few months," said CMC Markets UK chief market analyst Michael Hewson.
In London, ahead of the non-farm payrolls print, Halifax house price data will be released with no major corporate news on the calendar.
Stocks to watch include Endeavour Mining which said after the market close on Thursday that it had fired its CEO Sebastien de Montessus, for "serious misconduct" with immediate effect.