BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks are subdued in lackluster trade on Friday with investors not showing any big interest in making significant moves. The benchmark FTSE 100 index is moving in a very narrow range.
The mood remains cautious amid political uncertainty in France, and a lack of triggers.
The FTSE 100 was up 2 points or 0.02% at 9,511.40 a little before noon.
The Sage Group shares are up more than 3%. Compass Group is gaining 2.2% and Diageo is rising 2.1%.
Metlen Energy & Metals, Unilever, LSE, Games Workshp, Bunzl, Severn Trent, WPP, Pearson, JD Sports Fashion and Ashtead are up 1 to 1.7%.
Endeavour Mining is down nearly 3%. Fresnillo, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems and Babcock International are down 2 to 2.6%.
RightMove, Avia, IAG, Prudential, Shell, ICG, Anglo American Plc, Airtel Africa, HSBC Holdings and Glencore are down 0.7 to 1.6%.
In economic news, UK permanent job placements declined at a softer pace and candidate supply increased sharply amid falling demand for staff in September, monthly data from S&P Global showed.
Permanent staff appointments dropped at the weakest pace in a year in September. That said, employers were hesitant to take on new workers due to weaker economic conditions and cost concerns, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs said.
Meanwhile, temp billings dropped at a solid pace that was faster than in August.
Starting pay for permanent workers grew at the slowest pace in the current sequence of rise that began just over four-and-a-half years ago. Temp pay growth also slowed in September.
Data showed that overall vacancies continued to drop but the rate of contraction eased only slightly from August's six-month record.
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