Dip in unemployment boosts FTSE
The London market regained its poise after better-than-expected unemployment figures boosted investor confidence.
The FTSE 100 Index, which succumbed to profit-taking on Tuesday following fresh fears over the scale of Japan’s nuclear crisis, closed 46 points higher at 6010.4 after the UK unemployment rate fell for the first time in five months.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of people in work in the UK was at its highest for two years.
The jobs data followed a surprise drop in inflation to 4% on Tuesday, while Britain’s trade deficit shrank by more than expected in February as exports hit a record high for the second month in a row.
The positive jobs outlook boosted the pound, which was up against the US dollar at 1.62 and up against the euro at 1.12.
Rising gold and oil prices gave mining and resources stocks a fillip, with Randgold Resources up 5p at 5205p, Xstrata ahead 3p at 1468.5p and Essar Energy adding 8.7p at 465p.
A 3% drop in global iron ore production at Rio Tinto had earlier threatened to dampen the mood, but with the decline partly due to Australia’s recent flooding the stock held firm with a rise of 5.5p to 4408.5p.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% after the US Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4% from the previous month. It was the ninth gain in a row.
The latest round of first quarter updates in the US also lifted sentiment after JP Morgan posted earnings ahead of market expectations.
Chief executive Jamie Dimon said the results reflected a strong quarter in investment banking, offset by the “extraordinarily” high losses the bank continues to suffer on mortgage-related issues.
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