The Market Close - Hot in the city and at EasyJet as the airline 'flys' today - Collins Sarri Statham Investments

Today's Closing Update

U.S. shares rose following an employment report that showed the U.S. gained 222,000 jobs in June, representing the second-largest job haul of the year and underscoring that the labor market remains healthy.

European and U.K. shares retreated at midday as oil prices fell again and investors waited for the all-important US jobs report due out later in the day for clues on the health of the world’s largest economy.

The US jobs market continued creating jobs at a rapid clip but wage growth continued to fall short of expectations. US non-farm payrolls rose by 222,000 in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists had forecast an increase of 177,000. The private sector accounted for the lion’s share of the rise, with hiring up by 187,000 overall and by 162,000 in services. Motor vehicle and parts and information were the only subsectors that saw declines in employment, with falls of 1,300 and 4,000, respectively. Average hourly earnings meanwhile rose by 0.2% versus May, as expected, but in year-on-year terms were only 2.5% ahead after growth of 2.4% in May.

Spire Healthcare Group said it intends to invest £70m in developing a new hospital in Milton Keynes.The company said it intends to submit a planning application in the autumn and expects to open the hospital in early 2020. Current plans are for a 54-bed facility, with 24 consulting rooms, and a five-bed critical care unit. Spire said the planned site for the hospital is in the south-east of the town, less than five minutes drive from the Milton Keynes University Hospital, which is an NHS Foundation Trust.

CYBG may face a legal claim from a number of small businesses over allegedly mis-sold loans, with backing from a litigation funder, according to Sky. The broadcaster said it has obtained a funding document showing private litigation funder Augusta Ventures has committed at least £2.7m to bring a claim against CYBG, owner of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banking brands. One person familiar with the claims told Sky the value of a lawsuit could be several hundred million pounds. The case is being handled by claims management company RGL.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced that it would acquire Oncor Electric Delivery with an equity value of about $11.25bn. Berkshire Hathaway Energy has executed a definitive merger agreement to buy bankrupt Energy Future Holdings, or EFH, the parent of energy delivery company Oncor. The all-cash consideration for reorganized EFH is $9bn implying an equity value of approximately $11.25bn for Oncor.

Centrica, the owner of British Gas, were cooking on gas sparked by whispers of a takeover. Centrica has been flagged as a potential target, attracting the attention of a couple of different bidding parties, according to Zak Mir’s Wallstreetwires website, which was one of the first to moot the Worldpay takeover. The potential bidders for the UK’s largest energy utility are a consortium of infrastructure investors from Kuwait, Singapore and Canada “looking for a solid purchase of assets and earnings”, with their mooted rivals for a deal being “a strategic buyer”.

Oil prices fell more than 2% after data showed U.S. production rose last week just as OPEC exports hit a 2017 high, casting doubt over efforts by producers to curb oversupply.

Gold hit a two-month low after stronger than expected United States jobs data increased the likelihood of another U.S. interest rate increase.

Market Close

Market	Index	Change	% Change
UK 100	7350.9	+13.6	+0.2%
UK 250	19,395.1	+26.1	+0.1%
GER 30	12,388.7	+7.4	+0.1%
FRA 40	5,140.0	-12.4	-0.2%
U.S. 30	21,406.01	+85.97	+0.4%
U.S. 500	2,423.1	+13.4	+0.6%
OIL (BRENT)	46.71	-1.40	-2.91%
GOLD	1,210.38	-14.84	-1.2%

UK Risers & Fallers

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Easyjet	1419	+72	+5.3%
Computacenter	879.25	+41.5	+5.0%
Centrica	207.7	+5.8	+2.9%
Nostrum Oil & Gas	470.35	-18	-3.8%
Royal Mail Group	410.3	-14.2	-3.3%
ITV	176.6	-5.3	-2.9%

Reported Economic Data

Time/Date	Previous	Forecast	Outcome
G20 Meetings	–	–	–
1:30pm: U.S. Average Hourly Earnings m/m	0.2%	0.3%	0.2%
1:30pm: U.S. Non-Farm Employment Change	138k	175k	222k
3:00pm: U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI	56.9	56.5	57.4
4:00pm: U.S. Fed Monetary Policy Report	–	–	–