London markets closed positively on Friday, as investors digested slower-than-expected payrolls growth in the US, while Anglo American jumped amid anticipation of a potential bidding war for the mining giant.
US stocks rose strongly on Thursday with tech names leading the surge as investors continued to absorb comments from the Federal Reserve the previous session, who reassured that interest rates are unlikely to rise despite stickier-than-expected inflation.
Wall Street stocks registered heavy losses on Tuesday as market participants awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and digested more mega-cap earnings.
US stock markets finished mostly lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve highlighted a "lack of further progress" in bringing inflation down to its 2% target, while data showed private job gains were stronger than expected.
US stocks bounced back strongly on Friday with the Nasdaq surging more than 2% with the Magnificent Seven tech giants providing a huge boost following strong results from Microsoft and Alphabet.
US stocks fell sharply on Thursday after data confirmed the stickiness of inflation in the first quarter despite a drop in economic growth which pushed bond yields to their highest in six months.
US stocks finished broadly flat on Wednesday after a turbulent trading session, with eyes firmly fixed on corporate results as earnings season gets into full swing.
London's stock markets finished with a mixed performance on Thursday, as investors digested a slower-than-expected GDP growth reading from the United States, while a slew of well-received earnings underpinned the top-flight index.