(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 laboured to claw back some minor gains by midday Friday, though European markets were more comfortably in the green, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 notching a record high.
"Following the Democrats winning control of the US Senate, investors are optimistic that further stimulus measures are just around the corner. The US economy will certainly need them as a spike in new Covid-19 cases and further restrictions are likely to lead to a notable slowdown in the first quarter of 2021," commented Axi analyst Milan Cutkovic.
The FTSE 100 index was up 3.91 points, or 0.1%, at 6,860.87 midday on Friday.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 113.32 points, or 0.5%, at 21,123.18. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.5% at 1,180.63.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.2% at 682.91 points. The Cboe 250 was up 0.4% to 18,392.28, and the Cboe Small Companies climbed 0.6% to 12,154.44.
On the continent, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was up 0.5% at 5,699.41 and Frankfurt's DAX 30 up 0.8% at 14,074.78.
Germany's DAX breached the 14,000 mark to an intraday high of 14,131.52. The index has never closed above 14,000 points.
Semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies, energy firm RWE and sportswear giant Adidas were among the DAX's better performers, rising 6.2%, 3.6% and 2.2%.
"Putting the UK to shame, the eurozone indices continued to chug ahead. The DAX, which stuck its pinkie finger across 14,000 for the first time last night, is heading for another record this Friday," noted Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
The CAC also enjoyed a milestone of its own, spending much of the morning above the 5,700 mark, levels not seen since February 2020, Campbell commented.
Campbell noted that the CAC and DAX got a boost from a weaker euro on Friday.
The euro stood at USD1.2246 midday Friday London time, down from USD1.2274 at the European equities close on Thursday.
The pound was moving in the opposite direction. It was quoted at USD1.3597 midday Friday, up from USD1.3565 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The single-currency slipped despite the eurozone's unemployment rate falling slightly in November, topping market expectations of a fractional rise.
According to Eurostat, the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.3% in November from 8.4% in October. FXStreet said the consensus forecast was for the unemployment rate to come in at 8.5%, which would have been a slight monthly increase.
In London, housebuilders were in the green on the back of a positive trading update from Barratt Developments, and data from Halifax showing UK house prices notched another record high.
Barratt rose 3.5% and Taylor Wimpey climbed 2.1%.
Barratt said that for the financial first half ended December 31, its sales rate climbed 12% to 0.77 net private reservation per active outlet per week from 0.69 per week the year prior.
The firm's home completions rose 9.2% annually to 9,077, and total forward sales at December 31 were 14% higher year-on-year at 13,588 homes at a value of GBP3.21 billion, which up 19% from 12 months ago.
According to Halifax's monthly tracker, the UK housing sector rounded off a year of strong growth with yet another monthly climb in December. House prices rose 0.2% monthly in December to an average of GBP253,374, a record. House prices at the end of December were 6.0% higher than a year earlier.
Hargreaves Lansdown rose 4.0%, topping the FTSE 100, after Shore raised the wealth management platform to Buy from Hold.
At the other end of the large caps, Fresnillo and Polymetal fell 3.3% and 3.2%, tracking gold prices lower.
Gold was quoted at USD1,892.69 an ounce, down from USD1,914.89.
"The US dollar's recent gains, higher yields, and the equities rally is keeping gold on the defensive," said Axi analyst Stephen Innes.
Elsewhere in London, Marston's rose 2.3%. Its joint-venture with Carlsberg UK has helped boost its liquidity during a time of prolonged closures due to Covid-19, the pub operator said.
The company said it has bank facility headroom of GBP176 million. It added that 97% of its staff have been furloughed and its weekly cash burn during lockdown is between GBP3 million and GBP4 million.
AIM-listed ASOS rose 2.8% after announcing plans to invest GBP90 million in a new warehouse in Staffordshire, located in the West Midlands of England.
The London-based online fashion retailer said it plans to employ 2,000 people at the new fulfilment centre in Lichfield, Staffordshire over the next three years. The warehouse is situated on the A38 north of Birmingham and has "good road and airport links".
UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma hailed the "job creating investment" and ASOS's "skilled workforce".
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY103.88, improved from JPY103.80.
Friday's US data calendar has the key jobs report for December at 1330 GMT. A 71,000 rise in employment is expected, according to market forecasts, though this would be a steep slowdown from 245,000 net new jobs a month earlier.
"With the ADP coming in sharply lower than expected, and given the mixed ISM employment PMI components, don't be surprised if the December jobs report comes in below expectations. But what I am more interested in as far as this report is concerned is to see whether the markets actually care about jobs again or will it be ignored again. If we do see a sharp reaction, then this would suggest to me that investors are actually looking at data again and are adjusting their expectations accordingly," ThinkMarkets analyst Fawad Razaqzada said.
US futures were higher ahead of the release. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.3%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both were called up 0.4%. The three benchmarks look set to build on Thursday's record close.
Brent oil fetched USD55.18 a barrel midday Friday, up from USD54.51 at the London equities close on Thursday.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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