LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Aims For 9-day Win Streak After Erasing Losses On U.S. Jobs Report

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

U.K. stocks erased earlier losses and bounced higher in Friday afternoon action after the closely watched U.S. jobs report fueled optimism over the country's labor market.

Although the headline nonfarm payrolls number disappointed at 156,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-adds-156000-jobs-in-december-2017-01-06-81033418) in December, average wages rose much faster than expected. The labor market participation rate also advanced, indicating more people are rejoining the labor force as the economy continues to improve.

"The overall jobs report can be considered a strong one with the all-important average earnings jumping from a negative reading last month of -0.1% to 0.4% this month," said James Hughes, chief market analyst at GKFX, in a note.

"With more rate hikes on the horizon it becomes increasingly important for earnings to move in line with debt payments," he added.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates three times in 2017, which means debt payments will increase.

The report pulled the FTSE 100 index out of the red to trade 0.1% higher at 7,199.53, setting it on track for a ninth straight win and a record close. On Thursday, the benchmark logged a sixth consecutive record close, the longest streak since 1997.

The London benchmark was set for a 0.8% advance for the holiday-shortened week.

Bank cheer: Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) rose 1.6% after Barclays lifted the lender to overweight from equal weight. Barclays said the U.K.'s economic prospects remain challenging, but are less severe than previously expected.

HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) gained 0.7% and Barclays PLC (BCS) (BCS) picked up 1.4%.

Miners weigh: Gold miners topped the list of decliners as the metal gave up 0.7% to trade at around $1,173 an ounce (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-on-track-to-end-4-day-win-streak-but-post-best-week-in-6-months-2017-01-06). Shares of Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) fell 2.7%, and Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS.LN) (RRS.LN) lost 2.3%.

Other movers: Shares of easyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) climbed 0.7% after the budget airline said traffic went up 15.1% in December year-over-year.

TUI AG fell 0.4% after UBS cut the travel operator to neutral from buy.

On the FTSE 250 index , Rotork PLC (ROR.LN) jumped 3.6% after Goldman Sachs started coverage of the manufacturing company with a buy rating.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2017 09:24 ET (14:24 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.