There wasn’t too much movement out there this Friday, investors presumably keeping all the good stuff until after the US non-farm jobs report a bit later.
The FTSE climbed 0.2% after the bell, remaining trapped in the same 7500 to 7550 trading bracket it has been stuck in all week. The pound was similarly quiet: against the dollar it sat unchanged at $1.356 – and it likely praying for a rubbish set of jobs figures later today – while it has had more luck against the euro, pushing 0.2% higher to just about lift off of Thursday’s fresh 7 week lows.
The Eurozone indices were just as reticent this Friday. The CAC didn’t move from 5465, while the DAX jumped back across 12700 with a 40 point increase. Unlike the UK, however, the region has some data to grapple with this morning, namely the latest slew of services PMIs. The Eurozone-wide reading is expected to be confirmed at 55.0, a very (very) slight improvement on the figure from March.
After months of stagnant trading IAG (LON:ICAG) finally took flight this Friday, the British Airways-owner jumping 5% to hit its best price since mid-January following its first quarter results. While total Q1 revenue rose 2.1% to €5.02 billion, with an accelerated 3.4% increase in passenger revenue to €4.42 billion, the real draw was an astonishing 75% surge in operating profit to €280 million, lightyears ahead of the €206 million forecast by analysts.
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