FTSE100 closed 50 points down as traders were put off equities after a mixed jobs report from economic powerhouse the US.
The UK benchmark closed around 50 down at 5,848 with Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKG) the biggest laggard, down almost 5% at 3,390p.
In fact house builders were in the doldrums as the UK gov't announced new plans to help people realise self-build projects.
Councils will have to keep a register of aspiring self and custom house builders when planning for future housing and land use, it has emerged.
Persimmon (LON:PSON) dropped 3.38% to 1,970p, while Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW.) lost 3.33% to 182.8p.
On the US macro front, non-farm payrolls for January came in at 151,000 - fewer than the 190,000 which had been expected but the unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, indicating a stable labour market.
It may put a halt to any notion the Fed may have had on further interest rate rises any time soon.
David Madden, at spreadbetter IG Index, said: "In typical non-farm payrolls fashion, the devil was in the detail. The headline number may have missed expectations – and the downward revision to the previous months didn’t help – but the drop in unemployment and the rise in average hourly earnings made it a positive report."
In small caps, Wishbone Gold (LON:WSBN) soared over 19% to 0.31p after it announced the paper acquisition of Precious Metals International (PMI), which has a precious metal and gem trading licence to operate in the UAE.
Just Eat (LON:JE.) rose 5.39% to 379.4p after a deal to buy four businesses in Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico, which are said to have a combined takeaway delivery market of more than £8bn.
Supermarkets were also doing well despite the lacklustre overall trading, with Tesco (LON:TSCO), up 2.77% to 174.6p Morrisons (LON:MRW), up 2.58% at175p, Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) up 2.37% to 250.9p and Ocado (LON:OCDO) strengthening 5.71% to 259p.
British Gas owner Centrica (LON:CNA) deflated 0.15% after selling three wind farms for £115mln, part of a drive by chief executive Iain Conn to quit the wind power generation sector.
Investors gave BG Group (LON:BG.) the benefit of the doubt as it reported an excellent operational performance in 2015 despite a fall in earnings of nearly 40% due to lower oil prices.
Shares in BG, which is expected to complete its tie-up with Royal Dutch Shell in the next few weeks, rose 0.24% to 1,060p.
Bahamas Petroleum (LON:BPC) shares added over 29% to 2.13p after the Bahamian Senate passed a new petroleum bill and associated legislation paving the way for exploration in the Caribbean islands.
MID-SESSION
Weak US economic data cast a shadow over markets on Friday, although the increased prospect of interest rates staying on hold added a silver lining.
Analysts said monthly US non-farm payroll numbers were worse than expected, adding less than 200,000 jobs for the first time since October.
America’s jobless rate fell to 4.9% after US companies took on 151,000 new hires in January, fewer than expected
The Commerce Department also released a report showing the US trade deficit widened more than expected in December.
Dennis de Jong, managing director at foreign exchange trader UFX.com, said: "However confident Janet Yellen and her Fed colleagues were when raising interest rates in December, the US data released in January must be giving them food for thought – and today’s poor non-farm payroll figures are no different.
"Yellen won’t be worrying too much just yet, as other major economies have pared down growth forecasts amid global volatility. Many observers will surely be adopting a wait-and-see approach."
The FTSE 100 Index rose seven points to 5905 as miners surged on the back of dollar weakness on Friday, with Glencore (LON:GLEN) gaining 4.4% at 104.1p and Anglo American up 46.05p at 374.35p.
In equities, Just Eat was 36p, or 10%, tastier at 396p after a deal to buy four businesses in Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico, which are said to have a combined takeaway delivery market of more than £8bn.
Supermarkets were also doing well despite the lacklustre overall trading, with Tesco (LON:TSCO) advancing 4.05p to 173.95p, Morrisons (LON:MRW) putting on 4.4p to 175p, Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) adding 3.3p to 248.4p and Ocado (LON:OCDO) strengthening 10p, or more than 4%, to 255p.
British Gas owner Centrica (LON:CNA) deflated 0.2p to 196.4p after selling three wind farms for £115mln, part of a drive by chief executive Iain Conn to quit the wind power generation sector.
Investors gave BG Group (LON:BG.) the benefit of the doubt as it reported an excellent operational performance in 2015 despite a fall in earnings of nearly 40% due to lower oil prices.
Shares in BG, which is expected to complete its tie-up with Royal Dutch Shell in the next few weeks, rose 10p to 1067.5p.
Former BP boss Tony Hayward's Genel Energy (LON:GENL) got an 8.5p boost to 119p as it confirmed the receipt of January oil payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the Taq Taq field.
Bahamas Petroleum (LON:BPC) shares shot up 0.35p, or 21.2%, to 2p after the Bahamian Senate passed a new petroleum bill and associated legislation paving the way for exploration in the Caribbean islands.
Greka Drilling (LON:GDL) backtracked 0.32p to 3.6p as it increased the number of wells drilled in 2015 by 38% as its main customer, Green Dragon Gas (LON:GDG) ramped up its activity in China.
Randeep Grewal, chairman and chief executive, also cited good medium term prospects in India, but said Greka was not immune to the crisis that has hit the oil and gas industry and reducing costs will remain a focus.
Shares in Wishbone Gold (LON:WSBN) soared 9.6% to 0.28p after it announced the paper acquisition of Precious Metals International (PMI), which has a precious metal and gem trading licence to operate in the UAE.
LONDON OPEN
London shares drifted on Friday as commodities weighed and investors sat on the sidelines ahead of US job news.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 5.7 points to 5893 as miners dropped after surging on the back of dollar weakness on Thursday, with Glencore (LON:GLEN) down 1.87% at 97.82p and Rio Tinto off 1.13% at 1837p.
London Capital Group (LCG) said the weaker dollar story was continuing on Friday as traders trimmed US long positions before US non-farm payrolls data later.
Brenda Kelly at LCG said: "Expected to print 190,000 jobs in January, a lot softer than the December number, there is a strong possibility that any miss on expectations will only push the dollar lower. Wage growth will be key with consensus looking for 0.3% gain month-on-month."
In equities, Just Eat was 30.9p, or 8.6%, tastier at 390.9p after a deal to buy four businesses in Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico, which are said to have a combined takeaway delivery market of more than £8bn.
British Gas owner Centrica (LON:CNA) inflated 0.3p to 196.9p after selling three wind farms for £115mln, part of a drive by chief executive Iain Conn to quit the wind power generation sector.
Investors gave BG Group (LON:BG.) the benefit of the doubt as it reported an excellent operational performance in 2015 despite a fall in earnings of nearly 40% due to lower oil prices.
Shares in BG, which is expected to complete its tie-up with Royal Dutch Shell in the next few weeks, rose 9p to 1066.5p.
Former BP boss Tony Hayward's Genel Energy (LON:GENL) got a 9.25p boost to 119.75p as it confirmed the receipt of January oil payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the Taq Taq field.
Bahamas Petroleum (LON:BPC) shares shot up 0.36p, or 21.8%, to 2.01p after the Bahamian Senate passed a new petroleum bill and associated legislation paving the way for exploration in the Caribbean islands.
Greka Drilling (LON:GDL) backtracked 0.22p to 3.7p as it increased the number of wells drilled in 2015 by 38% as its main customer, Green Dragon Gas (LON:GDG) ramped up its activity in China.
Randeep Grewal, chairman and chief executive, also cited good medium term prospects in India, but said Greka was not immune to the crisis that has hit the oil and gas industry and reducing costs will remain a focus.
MARKET PREVIEW
After a week driven by oil price volatility, London’s blue chips are set for a steady start to Friday.
Today much of the focus turns to America and its job market, as the monthly non-farm payroll statistics will provide the latest bellwether for interest rate decision making.
The report, due in the early afternoon (in the UK), takes the temperature of the US jobs market which is believed to be among the pivotal considerations for US Federal Reserve when it decides rates.
Experts expect strong number will encourage another rate riser sooner, while weak ones could see that possibility move towards the back burner. For context, analyst consensus predicts 190,000 new jobs were created last month.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones closed Thursday’s trading around 80 points, 0.5%, higher on Thursday to 16,416 while the S&P 500 rose 0.15% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.12%.
In Asia this morning, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6% to 19,298 while the Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei were on the back foot, losing 0.6% and 1.3% respectively.
Oil prices were just slightly lower, with Brent down 0.35% to US$34.35 and West Texas Intermediate was priced at around US$31.75.
In London, IG Markets sees the FTSE 100 flat calling it 5,897 to 5,899.