The UK’s unemployment rate stayed at 4.4% in the three months to December, which compares with City expectations for a figure of 4.5%. Average earnings including bonuses increased by a bigger-than-expected 6% on a year earlier, up from the previous month’s 5.5%. Excluding bonuses, the wage growth figure was in line with forecasts at 5.9%. The FTSE 100 index last night closed 35.55 points or 0.4% higher at 8,768.01, a performance boosted by a rise of 9% for BAE Systems.
With no handover from US markets due to Presidents Day, London’s top flight is forecast to open broadly unchanged this morning. Asia markets have seen mixed trading, with the Shanghai Composite down by 1% and the Hang Seng index up 0.7%. Earlier today, Australia’s central bank cut interest rates for the first time since November 2020 with a quarter point reduction to 4.1%. The pound stood at just below $1.26 ahead of today’s labour market figures.
