{"id":120828,"date":"2021-09-02T17:34:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T17:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=120828"},"modified":"2021-09-02T17:34:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T17:34:48","slug":"upbeat-melrose-earnings-lift-ftse-100-energy-stocks-gain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/upbeat-melrose-earnings-lift-ftse-100-energy-stocks-gain\/","title":{"rendered":"Upbeat Melrose earnings lift FTSE 100; energy stocks gain"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) -The FTSE 100 rose on Thursday on an upbeat earnings report from Melrose Industries and as higher oil prices lifted energy stocks, although ex-dividend trading and losses in heavyweight Unilever capped gains.<\/p> The blue-chip index closed up 0.2%, with engineering firm Melrose surging 7.2% to a more-than-four-month high after swinging to a first-half profit, helped by a recovery in its aerospace division.<\/p>\n On the other hand, global miner BHP Group slid 5.6% to the bottom of index, while motor insurer Admiral Group slipped 1.9% as they traded ex-dividend.<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 has risen more than 10% so far this year, boosted by strong corporate earnings and hopes of a strong vaccine-led economic recovery, but a global resurgence in coronavirus cases and fears of a tapering in global monetary policy have rekindled concerns about the pace of growth.<\/p>\n Focus on Friday will be on the U.S. monthly jobs report, which could set the stage for the Federal Reserve\u2019s policy meeting later this month.<\/p>\n \u201cThe market is waiting for this non-farm payrolls (data) that has potentially big market moving implications for the Federal Reserve,\u201d said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Fed looking at the employment market more and more as its guide rather than inflation … you\u2019re getting to the point now where, because of the potential imminent taper, each jobs report becomes more and more important.\u201d<\/p>\n The domestically focussed mid-cap index was down 0.1%, after notching a record closing high on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Unilever Plc fell 2.1% as JP Morgan downgraded the Dove soap maker\u2019s stock to \u201cunderweight\u201d from \u201cneutral\u201d.<\/p>\n CMC Markets sank 27.4% to the bottom of the index after the online trading platform slashed its annual earnings outlook.<\/p>\n EnQuest fell 6.1% after the North Sea-focused oil producer forecast annual production at the lower end of its earlier outlook range.<\/p>\n