By Kit Rees
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index gained ground on Friday as investors digested a weaker than expected U.S. jobs reading, with miner Anglo American (L:AAL) making gains.
Trading was choppy following a U.S. jobs report which disappointed market consensus, with the U.S. non-farm payrolls figure coming in lower than expected at 151,000, as opposed to an expected increase of 190,000.
The report showed that U.S. employment growth slowed in January, undercutting the case for a further rise in U.S. interest rates in March.
"It just adds to the picture ... of uncertainty with respect to global growth, rather than giving us some reassurance," Ken Odeluga, market analyst at City Index, said.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (FTSE) turned to trade lower, up only 0.2 percent at 5,909.07 points at 1440 GMT, slightly underperforming the broader European market.
The commodity-heavy index was pegged back as the dollar rallied, causing metals prices to drop. Analysts said that some aspects of the report were more encouraging, muddying the picture of the strength of the U.S. economy.
"Immediate reaction in the market has not necessarily followed the headline numbers - it's followed the underlying strength in the U.S. jobs market shown by the unexpectedly strong rise in average hourly earnings," City Index's Odeluga said.
Shares in British miner Anglo American (L:AAL) remained in positive territory, jumping 8.2 percent and adding to its 19.9 percent leap on Thursday. It was joined by fellow miner Glencore (L:GLEN), which gained 1 percent.
Yet other British mining companies fell as the U.S. dollar firmed, with Rio Tinto (L:RIO) and BHP Billiton (L:BLT) down 3 and 2.5 percent respectively.
Banks also rallied, with Standard Chartered (L:STAN), Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) and HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) up 0.5 to 3 percent, with investors citing the prospect of a delayed interest rate hike for the UK being priced into the market.
"The FTSE is looking steady, and appears to have found support to move away from the lows of the previous month," said Jonathan Roy at Charles Hanover Investments.
However, shares in financial spread-betting company CMC Markets
The FTSE remains down by around 5.5 percent since the start of 2016 and nearly 20 percent below a record high reached in April 2015. A slowdown in China - the world's second biggest economy - and weak oil prices has hit world stock markets.
"The violent swings in the oil markets, combined with ongoing concerns about the global economy, have reinstated a wave of risk aversion which continues to punish the FTSE 100," said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.