Bid activity provided the main talking points on London’s equities market on Friday, while US jobs data stayed roughly in line with the expectations. Oil explorer Dana Petroleum rose 18.6 per cent to £13.96 after confirmation of a report in the Financial Times of a potential offer from KNOC, South Korea’s national oil company.

Equities across Europe made tentative gains on Friday, but did nothing to repair the steep losses endured in Thursday’s session as investors awaited crucial US employment data. The benchmark Eurofirst 300 gained 0.5 per cent, still far off the 1,000 point key support level it dropped below earlier in the week. The most significant gains also came from London-listed miners buoyed by Australia’s move to dilute plans to increase taxes on its mining sector. Eurozone traders were unnerved on Thursday by a string of disappointing growth statistics from round the world, restocking fears over the strength of the global recovery, and with the US non-farm payroll figures due later on Friday there was a reluctance to take any big positions.

Leading shares broke a three-day losing streak, with miners leading the way after reports of buoyant Chinese trade figures. The country’s exports grew 50 per cent year on year in May, dispelling some of the concerns about a fall in demand for commodities and pushing metal prices higher. So buyers returned to the sector. A cautiously optimistic testimony on the US economy from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke also helped sentiment.

Wall Street looked set to open higher and European shares kept their gains on Friday despite a key US jobs report that came in slightly worse than expected. But the dollar extended losses against major currencies

The US Labour Department said US employment fell for the first time this year in June as thousands of temporary census jobs ended and private hiring grew less than expected. But a mixed report also showed the unemployment rate fell to 9.5 per cent, the lowest level since July, as people left the labour force.