FTSE finishes Friday marginally lower, US adds 850K jobs in June, USD softens By Investing.com

Key Points

• FTSE 100 closing price of 7122.61, -0.04%
• Homebuilders higher after positive note
• US jobs recovery continues
• USD softens after date
• Crude lower as OPEC decides
• Bitcoin drops below $33,000

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – The FTSE 100 finished the session marginally lower and ended the week nursing slight losses. Homebuilders were some of the better performing stocks early on after a positive note from Jefferies. The investment bank upgraded its view on Bellway (LON:BWY) and Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’, which supported the whole sector.

Travel stocks were again trading higher after German Chancellor Merkel said fully vaccinated Brits should be able to visit Germany without quarantining in the “foreseeable future”, potentially opening the door for more European countries in the future. Meanwhile budget airlines Ryanair (LON:RYA) and Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) reported an increase in traffic in the month of the June, although passenger numbers remain well below 2019 levels.

All eyes were on the US labour market data which provided a bit for everyone. The US added 850,000 jobs in June, above the 700,000 expected but the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.9% and there was no improvement in the participation rate.

The USD pared some of its recent gains in the aftermath of the report but the US Dollar Index remains above the 200DMA and should keep those favouring a long USD position in charge for now.

WTI and Brent crude futures were both trading lower ahead of the delayed OPEC+ meeting. The UAE had been major dissenter, despite an agreement seemingly approved by both Russia and Saudi Arabia that would see the cartel boost output by an additional 2mln bpd by December. The UAE reportedly wanted its share of the quota to be higher.

Bitcoin was marginally weaker in the early part of the afternoon, briefly dropping below $33,000 ahead of the aforementioned US data. Ethereum was trading with similar price action, briefly dropping towards $2,000 before finding support at the figure.

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