FTSE 100 ends just below the flatline; Wall Street, including GameStop, having

• FTSE 100 index down 14 points
• US stocks mostly higher, including GameStop
• Big tech stocks in the red
• US jobs data undershoots estimates

5pm: FTSE 100 slips back into the red

London’s leading index ended Friday down 14 points, 0.2%, at 6,489. The FTSE 250, meanwhile, gained 257 points, 1.2%, to 21,067.

“Some negative sentiment has returned to the equity markets after it was announced that Robinhood, the trading app, removed limits on trading Gamestop – the stock at the centre of the recent Reddit-retail investor frenzy,” CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden wrote Friday.

In the US, the Dow was up 96 points, 0.3%, to 31,152 at midday. The Nasdaq Composite gained 61 points, 0.5%, 13,839, and the S&P 500 improved 15 points, 0.4%, to 3,887.

“The no-so-hot jobs report has not stopped the Dow Jones as well as the S&P 500 from gaining ground, although the indices are off the highs of the session,” Madden wrote. “Earlier today it was announced the Senate has adopted a measure to fast-track President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan so optimism is still in reasonably healthy supply. The jobs update made for interesting reading but the stimulus story is still the big issue of the week.”

4.10pm: Domestic stocks lift FTSE 250 above 100

The FTSE 100 has fought its way back above the flatline at 6,508.71, having been down 0.7% around the time of the US jobs report as the dollar dipped to give sterling a lift.

Wall Street also stumbled after its initial higher start, with the Nasdaq Composite even dropping into the red.

I’m sure you’d like to know: GameStop () stock is up 35% to US$72.05 as the number of shares being shorted by hedge funds continued to decline, according to the latest data from S3 Partner.

GameStop shorts were down US$8.7bn in realized and unrealized losses so far in 2021, according to S3

$GME GameStop shares surge again following post-frenzy plunge https://t.co/zyKUGwD6rv #GME

— Proactive USA (@proactive_NA) February 5, 2021

Big Tech is having a bit of a wobble, with the trillion-dollar trio of Apple (), Microsoft () and Amazon.com () all slipping lower in early trading.

Tesla (), Paypal () and () are also in the digital doghouse with investors too.

Yesterday, Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar, the new head of the Senate’s antitrust subcommittee, unveiled a new antitrust bill described around the media as “sweeping” and “comprehensive”.

Klobuchar said the US economy “faces a massive competition problem. We can no longer sweep this issue under the rug and hope our existing laws are adequate.”

Back in London, the Footsie is continuing to be outdone by its mid-cap sibling, with the FTSE 250 up over 288 points or 1.4% to 21,097.79.

This is being driven by some chunky rises, led by () after it confirmed talks over a £2.2bn takeover approach, sending the shares soaring 37%.

Beazley, the Lloyd’s of London insurer, was up 18% after revealing losses that were not as bad as had been feared.

Also helping fuel the mid-cap rally were reports that Boris Johnson is planning an announcement later this month to reveal what restrictions will be lifted on pubs and bars, which sent () bubbling up almost 12%, while () and Marston’s () rose nearer 4%.

Hopes that the vaccine roll-out can continue on its impressive path and enable a return to normality, with newspapers splashing stories with Westminster sources saying Britain should see “a quick return to normal in April and May”, helped domestic travel groups (), () and (), up between 7% and 8%, and embattled leisure groups Rank () and Cineworld ().

“The stronger pound continues to hobble the FTSE 100, which has lagged behind other indices this week in the rebound from last week’s lows,” said market analyst Chris Beauchamp at IG. 

“While the dollar has eased off a touch today the strength in the…