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UK stocks saw small gains on Friday ahead of the latest US employment data. But concerns over a recent jump in coronavirus infections outweighed reopening optimism and kept the FTSE 100 index on course for a muted weekly showing.
At midday, the FTSE 100 traded 0.2% higher at 7,142 with miners and pharmaceutical stocks leading the way.
GlaxoSmithKline responded to demands from activist investor Elliott which questioned if CEO Emma Walmsley was the right person to lead the company once it separates the consumer healthcare arm. The FTSE 100 pharma group gave its full support for Walmsley, helping to lift the shares by 0.2% to £14.40.
Housebuilders were in demand across the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 including Bellway which was up 2.4%. Investors continue to flock to property-related stocks including housebuilders and builders' merchants with the view that the property market will remain busy despite the Government having started to taper the stamp duty holiday for people in England and Northern Ireland.
UK banks were out of favour, with Standard Chartered, HSBC and NatWest among the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100.
Globally, shares held near record highs as investors looked to US jobs data for signs of balanced economic growth with tame inflationary pressure.
JD Sports Fashion nudged up 0.9% to 977.6p, despite revealing after the close yesterday that the chair of its remuneration committee would leave the board following a shareholder rebellion over management pay at Britain's biggest sportswear retailer.
Computer games maker Team17 rallied 4.3% to 761p after striking a deal to acquire the business and assets of StoryToys, via the acquisition of its parent company TouchPress.
Liontrust scrapped plans to float an ESG-themed investment trust after failing to get enough support to hit a £100 million minimum fundraising target.
Omega Diagnostics, the medical diagnostics company focused on infectious diseases and food intolerance, announced that its technology partner Mologic has filed a submission to the US Food and Drug Administration for its rapid point-of-care Covid-19 antigen test.
Drug discovery company E-therapeutics has met a key milestone in its collaboration with Galapagos NV, paving the way for the company to receive a milestone payment.
Staying in the healthcare space, pharmaceutical company Diurnal was flat at 64.36p despite saying the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has granted a marketing authorisation to the company's hydrocortisone capsules to treat adult and adolescent patients suffering with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Super yacht maintenance company GYG said it extended the deadline again to grant Harwood Capital more time to conduct due diligence concerning a potential offer for the company.