FTSE 100 gains this week on U.S. jobs beat, home data keeps lid on rally

LONDON, July 4, 2026, 18:07 BST

• The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) closed at 10,679.03 on Friday, gaining 0.25% for the session and 1.6% this week.
• The FTSE 100 climbed 1.7% on Thursday, more than its total gain for the week. The rest of the week added up to a small compounded loss.
• FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) added 0.52% Friday to close at 23,538.80, even as UK services PMI dropped to 48.8, the worst since January 2023.

London equities were quiet on Saturday, with no regular trading as the London Stock Exchange was closed. The main story for UK stocks is trading through July 3. On Friday, the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) closed at 10,679.03, up 26.15, and the FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) finished at 23,538.80, up 121.22.

The headline number for the week looks good, with the FTSE 100 up 1.6%. But the bulk of that move showed up on Thursday, when the index jumped 1.7% as weaker U.S. payrolls data knocked back bets on a near-term Fed rate hike. Take out Thursday, and the FTSE 100 was basically flat to slightly down for the rest of the week—down about 0.1% by a rough compound measure.

Financials, gold miners and chemicals led Friday’s move higher. Standard Chartered PLC LON:STAN added 1.5%, precious-metal miners were up 1.4%. Johnson Matthey PLC LON:JMAT jumped 4.9% after its Catalyst Technologies divestment to Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) won sign-off in China.

Most of Thursday’s gains came from healthcare stocks. AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) jumped 4.9% after announcing a deal with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd (HKG:1093) worth up to $1.77 billion. The sector climbed 4.4%. Defense shares traded higher as well, with BAE Systems PLC (LON:BA) and Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LON:RR) helping pace a move of between 1% and 7.1% for the group. Currys PLC (LON:CURY) dropped 1.4% after warning that a global memory-chip shortage could push prices higher later this year.

S&P Global services PMI dropped to 48.8 in June from 49.3, missing the 50 mark for the second month. New business declined at the sharpest rate since November 2022. Firms cut jobs for the 21st month straight. Tim Moore at S&P Global Market Intelligence called it a “clear loss of momentum” and pointed to “strong cost pressures” alongside “lacklustre demand.” Reuters

The Bank of England’s Decision Maker Panel included the rate risk. In the three months to June, firms expected their prices to rise 4.1% over the next year, edging up 0.1 percentage point from May. Expected wage growth for the year ahead went to 3.5%. Rob Wood at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the results would keep the MPC looking at an “extended rate hold.” Bank of England

BoE’s Catherine Mann said investors shouldn’t see this week’s rally as a clear signal on domestic growth. Mann pointed out that markets have priced out a BoE rate hike for this year and said “financial conditions were much tighter” in June compared to now. In her prepared remarks, she called for an “activist move” if data start to go against the central bank’s inflation target, saying it could help pull inflation expectations and actual inflation back on track. Reuters

The UK shift matched a broader move in Europe out of pricey U.S. tech stocks. The STOXX 600 was on track for a 2.6% weekly rise, the strongest since mid-May. The MSCI world stock index aimed at a 2% gain for the week. “Tech-lite European indices are back in demand,” said David Morrison, senior market strategist at Trade Nation, pointing to lower price-to-earnings ratios in Europe compared to the U.S. Reuters