London markets closed Friday with a small gain after seeing choppy action in the wake of disappointing US jobs data. The FTSE 100 turned lower after the US labour department reported nonfarm payrolls fell 85,000 in December, though revisions showed payrolls rose in November for the first time in nearly two years. The FTSE ended the day with a gain of 7.52 points or 0.1% at 5,534.24.

In the US a late round of buying nudged the stock market to a slight gain during Fridays session, despite disappointing jobs data. The DOW closed up 11 points or 0.1% at 10,618. It ended the week up 1.8%.

Gold futures rose on Friday as the US dollar dropped sharply against it’s major rivals after the jobs data, raising gold’s investment appeal. Gold Feb ended up $ 5.20 or 0.5%, at $1,138.90.

In currencies, the dollar fell more than 1% against the Japanese yen, while the euro gained 0.8% against the dollar.

The FTSE got off to a strong start this morning with sentiment lifted by a series of upbeat broker comments on mining and financial stocks. The sustained rally took the benchmark index to its best level since September 2008.

Figures this week to keep an eye on will be tomorrow’s Trade Balance figures out at 13.30. On the 14th we have the ECB Interest Rate Decision out at 12.45, and on the same day we have Retail Sales figures from the US out at 13.30. On the 15th the main figures investors will be interested in are the Consumer Price Index figures out at 13.30.

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