By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Britain's benchmark index was trading
little changed on Friday, as investors awaited labor market data
for more clues on the health of the U.S. economic recovery.
The FTSE 100 index was nearly flat at 5,765.39 in afternoon
trading following two sessions of strong gains.
"It looks like blue chips are happy to consolidate the recent
sharp gains today, as markets bide their time ahead of the latest
U.S. nonfarm payroll numbers," said Ben Critchley, sales trader at
IG Index.
The U.S. jobs data are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Economics
polled by MarketWatch expects payrolls to rise by 155,000 in
November.
In the U.K., "top risers are dominated by mining shares, with
the likes of Fresnillo and Antofagasta finding fresh momentum
recently as attention shifts away from euro-zone debt concerns and
onto the week's positive economic news," Critchley wrote in a
note.
In the mining sector, shares of Vedanta Resources PLC gained
0.9% and those of Fresnillo PLC rallied 3.7%.
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta PLC rose 1.3%.
Financial stocks were among the biggest decliners in the
benchmark index. Shares of hedge-fund manager Man Group PLC slipped
2.7%.
Among banks, Standard Chartered PLC fell 1.9% and Barclays PLC
dropped 1.6%.
Insurance firms also moved lower. Old Mutual PLC declined 1.2%
and Legal & General Group PLC fell 1.1%.
In the aerospace sector, shares of engine maker Rolls-Royce
Group PLC edged up 0.2%, erasing earlier losses.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released its preliminary
investigation report on the engine failure on board a Qantas
Airways A380 aircraft over Indonesia on Nov. 4. The plane's engine
is made by Rolls-Royce.
The bureau identified an overspeed-related failure in the
intermediate pressure turbine disc in the aircraft's No. 2 engine.
The problem relates to "a possible manufacturing issue" with some
engines, the bureau said.
Also in the sector, shares of Chemring Group PLC rose 2% after
J.P. Morgan Cazenove started coverage of the stock with an
overweight recommendation.
"We believe it should recover its historical premium to the
aerospace & defence sector due to its industry leading growth
rates and operating margins, which we believe it can sustain," the
broker said in a note.