London open: Stocks rise on US debt deal; all eyes on payrolls

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Friday after the US Senate passed a bi-partisan agreement to raise the debt ceiling, and as investors eyed the latest non-farm payrolls report. At 0820 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,523.85 amid relief that the US has averted a debt default.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Investor optimism ahead of the Senate vote proved to be well-founded as the debt ceiling issue was resolved, with just days to go, after the closing bell.

"While the issue was expected ultimately to reach a satisfactory conclusion, there was nonetheless relief as the legislation avoids what would have been a disastrous US default. Attention will now revert to the other pressing issues of the day, most notably the next move on interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

"Comments from Fed members also lifted sentiment, suggesting that the time for a pause in the rate hiking cycle might now be appropriate. The consensus has swung again to a reported 75% chance that there will be no hike at the upcoming June meeting.

"However, a strong non-farm payrolls report later today could upset that particular applecart. The current forecast is for 190,000 jobs to have been added in May, as compared to a figure of 253,000 the previous month."

The payrolls report for May is due at 1330 BST, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings.

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were the top performers as copper prices rose, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore and Rio all up.

Prudential rallied after JPMorgan Cazenove placed the shares on 'positive catalyst watch' into first-half results and said the company is on track to beat consensus for new business sales/profits by 5%/13% in 2023.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals surged after it agreed to be taken private in a £4.5bn deal.

The veterinary medicine firm said it had accepted an all-cash offer of 3,875p per share from Swedish private equity firm EQT and Luxinva, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Elsewhere, JD Sports gained as US sportswear retailer Lululemon surged in after-market trade after lifting its full-year outlook.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,523.85 0.45% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,912.83 0.45% techMARK (TASX) 4,562.94 -0.06%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,420.00p 2.90% Ocado Group (OCDO) 362.60p 2.89% Anglo American (AAL) 2,358.50p 2.57% Prudential (PRU) 1,118.50p 2.52% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,984.00p 2.01% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 277.50p 1.72% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 154.90p 1.67% Glencore (GLEN) 423.70p 1.63% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,214.00p 1.56% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 617.80p 1.51%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 889.00p -0.67% AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,592.00p -0.67% GSK (GSK) 1,339.80p -0.58% SSE (SSE) 1,869.50p -0.56% Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,708.00p -0.50% Compass Group (CPG) 2,207.00p -0.32% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 635.00p -0.31% British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,549.50p -0.31% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,300.00p -0.30% Diageo (DGE) 3,334.50p -0.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Senior (SNR) 177.20p 4.85% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 230.20p 4.73% Energean (ENOG) 1,163.00p 4.68% Ninety One (N91) 174.10p 4.25% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,885.00p 3.94% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 142.50p 2.81% PureTech Health (PRTC) 223.00p 2.76% IWG (IWG) 152.70p 2.69% Workspace Group (WKP) 521.50p 2.66% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 215.00p 2.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Trainline (TRN) 250.20p -3.62% Bodycote (BOY) 631.00p -2.17% Redrow (RDW) 480.00p -1.92% Diploma (DPLM) 2,960.00p -1.60% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 352.00p -1.57% Bellway (BWY) 2,294.00p -1.04% Investec (INVP) 426.80p -0.67% Softcat (SCT) 1,379.00p -0.51% Victrex plc (VCT) 1,560.00p -0.45% Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,113.00p -0.36%