The FTSE 100 opened lower on an albeit quiet day in the city, dominated early on by ONS data. Unemployment in December sat at 3.8%, lower than analysts’ anticipations for 4%, but as a record number reported long-term sickness.
Wage growth was stronger than expected over the month meanwhile, at 5.8% against anticipations of 5.6%, as the hospitality and retail sectors buoyed figures.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin surpassed the US$50,000 mark for the first time in two years, thanks to large inflows from new exchange-traded funds.
Among the few reporting, German travel group Tui unveiled record quarterly revenue on the back of high demand and prices in the three months to December.
And finally, delivery firm Yodel looks to have avoided administration thanks to a rescue deal involving rival Shift.