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FTSE preview: Gains after US jobs relief

By Reuters
Updated: 02:51 EDT, 4 March 2011

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The FTSE 100 is expected to gain as fears about violence in the Arab world receded and optimism about strong US employment data helped lift Wall Street.

People walk past London's Stock Exchange

Taking stock: Shares should add to yesterday's gains today.

Britain's FTSE 100 was seen gaining 0.4% after it added 1.5% to close at 6,005.09 on Thursday on hopes of a peace deal in Libya.

Investors betting on a big gain in US payrolls pushed Wall Street to its best one-day rally in three months on Thursday.

The median estimate is for a gain of 185,000 jobs, according to economists polled by Reuters, but market sentiment was leaning toward a number above 200,000, traders said.

There will results today from WPP, traffic data from Easyjet and trading updates from Ocado and Sthree.

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