With economic data seemingly absent and the New York Stock Exchange closed for the Fourth of July public holiday, investors were taking the chance to relax after the post-jobs report euphoria sent stocks racing on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at a new record high of 17,068 when US markets closed early yesterday, breaking the psychologically-important level of 17,000 for the first time in history. The S&P 500 also jumped 0.5% to an all-time high of 1,985.

The FTSE 100 was trading 0.1% lower at 6,856 in early trading after settling at 6,865.21 on Thursday, its highest close since June 10th.

“US markets are closed today for Independence Day, so in all likelihood we will see lower volatility than normal for a Friday,” said Chief Economist Simon Smith from FxPro.

Data released yesterday showed that the US economy added an impressive 288,000 jobs in June up from a revised 224,000 in May and well ahead of analysts’ forecasts, while the unemployment rate dropped to 6.1%, its lowest mark in more than five and a half years.

easyJet gains on traffic stats

Budget airline easyJet rose strongly as it posted a 10.1% jump in its June passenger numbers, which leapt from 5.5m to 6.1m year-on-year.

Similarly, Ryanair traffic rose 5% last month with the company hailing a shake-up of its customer service and website for boosting passenger numbers.

British Airways operator IAG, which yesterday reported a 4% rise in traffic in June, was also flying higher this morning.

Telecom titan BT was in demand after reaching a deal with the trustee of its mammoth pension scheme to protect the company from increased costs linked to “potential increases in life expectancy”.

Banking and mining stocks declined early on as investors scaled back their appetite for riskier assets. Standard Chartered and RBS led banks lower, while miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were also in the red.

FTSE 100 – Risers
easyJet (EZJ) 1,391.00p +3.19%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 369.00p +1.04%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,020.00p +0.99%
BT Group (BT.A) 392.40p +0.90%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 942.50p +0.86%
ITV (ITV) 185.10p +0.76%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,464.00p +0.74%
Schroders (SDR) 2,557.00p +0.67%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 197.85p +0.66%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,304.00p +0.54%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Sports Direct International (SPD) 758.50p -1.37%
Hammerson (HMSO) 582.00p -1.10%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,266.50p -0.94%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,326.00p -0.75%
BG Group (BG.) 1,267.00p -0.71%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 383.70p -0.70%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,571.50p -0.70%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,222.00p -0.65%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 891.00p -0.61%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,464.00p -0.61%

Source: ShareCast