US trade mission ends with limited progress, China says - as it happened

All the latest economic and financial news, as China says some progress was made in US trade talks but 'relatively big differences' remain

• Treasury secretary Mnuchin reports 'very good conversations'
• US asks China to cut trade surplus by $100bn in list of demands
• US non-farm payrolls report weaker-than-expected in April
• UK new car sales rise for first time in a year but diesel plunges
• BT planning to announce another 6,000 job cuts

5.04pm BST

A recovery on Wall Street in the wake of the US jobs figures - and despite the uncertain end to two days of trade talks between the US and China - gave a late lift to European markets. The final scores showed:

4.14pm BST

US markets have recovered from a wobby start, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average now up more than 200 points. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said:

Equities are advancing on a broad front as the week moves to its close, and while non-farm payrolls didn't deliver anything of a particularly spectacular nature, the overall impression is of a US economy moving in the right direction. Fans of symbolic moves will be pleased to see the unemployment rate move below 4%, and even though the wage figure failed to beat expectations, the year-on-year number has continued to recover from its late-2017 weakness, with the upward trend from the 2013 lows there for all to see.

Reports that Warren Buffett had been a steady buyer of stocks in the first quarter thanks to the volatility will have stiffened a few wavering souls, helping to cancel out some of the trade war worries we saw overnight.

2.58pm BST

A mixed US jobs and wages report has led, appropriately enough, to a mixed opening for US markets.

After an early dip the Dow Jones Industrial Average has edged up just 3 points while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are both marginally lower.

#Payrolls didn't turn out to be the game-changer U.S. stock markets could have used as pretext to relax about inflation+dollar+Fed - they would have needed to be much weaker. Helps explain why #Dow, S&P have stayed weak into the cash open ^KO

2.37pm BST

Here's our report on the US jobs figures:

Related: US unemployment falls to 17-year low of 3.9% as economy adds 164,000 jobs

2.26pm BST

The rebound in the dollar following the US jobs data has seen the pound lose 0.58% to $1.3495, meaning sterling has lost all the gains it made against the US currency this year.

2.19pm BST

However much the Fed hikes, it will not be to 40% one sincerely hopes.

But the Argentinian central bank has hoisted its rates to that level in the second rise in 24 hours. On Thursday it raised them from 30.25% to 33.25% and now has lifted them to 40%.

2.14pm BST

The dollar dipped in the immediate aftermath of the US data, with analysts concerned about the weaker than expected wage growth and the chance it might limit the Federal Reserve's ability to raise interest rates by as much as expected.

But the US currency soon rebounded on the basis that the figures were not really likely to sway the Fed one way or the other.

#US labour market continues to tighten but where is the wage growth? Wage growth is still subdued. #Fed on autopilot with 2-3 more hikes this year pic.twitter.com/3dpsHQ0LGI

The April US jobs report is a bit mixed. Employment rose 164,000, but when you add in 30,000 upward revisions to the past 2 months then it is pretty much in line with the market expectation for a 193,000 rise. Unemployment fell to 3.9%, the lowest level since December 2000, but the fall from 4.1% was amplified by a sizeable chunk of unemployed people leaving the labour force - note the participation rate fell from 62.9% to 62.8%. Rounding out the report was a softer wage number. There were some downward revisions and a weaker month on month reading for April of 0.1%, which mean the annual wage growth rate remained at 2.6%, rather than coming in at 2.7% as predicted.

It isn't a particularly exciting report and certainly shouldn't alter market expectations for monetary policy in any meaningful way, but it just feels a bit soft given the state of the economy. Other surveys paint a stronger picture and we still believe that the wage story will turn higher and be the catalyst for the Fed to take a more aggressive stance on the inflation threat...we continue to look for 3 further interest rates rises this year, starting with June 13.

2.04pm BST

Revisions to the payroll number for February and March paint a slightly better picture overall:

February and March Non-Farm Payrolls revised higher by a net 30K.

2.00pm BST

The 164,000 increase in US payrolls in April was well below the average monthly gain of 191,000 over the previous 12 months, the Labor Department said.

In terms of sectors, there were job gains in professional and business services, manufacturing, health care, and mining over the month of April.

US Payrolls below expectations at 164,000 jobs added, but increase in last months estimate leaves market 'as you were' - Dollar heads towards 2018 highs as US jobs data loom https://t.co/WNM5NvBpMM pic.twitter.com/dp8TjmSObl

1.35pm BST

Breaking: The US economy added 164,000 jobs in April, weaker than the 192,000 forecast by economists.

On the flip side, the number for March was revised up by the Labor Department, to 135,000 from an initial estimate of 103,000.

1.20pm BST

Almost time for the US non farm payrolls report for April. Economists are predicting a rebound in job creation after a particularly weak March.

Headline expectations according to a Reuters poll (March's figures in brackets, which could be revised):

12.36pm BST

Growth in eurozone retail sales slowed in March, according to figures published earlier by the statistics agency Eurostat.

The volume of goods sold dipped 0.1% compared with February, as consumers spent less on non-food items. Sales had risen by 0.3% in February.

11.51am BST

11.50am BST

The US and Chinese delegations have reached agreement on some aspects of the trade row but there are still relatively big differences on other issues, according to China's Xinhua news agency. Reuters reports:

The two sides, though, committed to resolving their trade disputes through dialogue, state-run Xinhua reported.

And the U.S. negotiators agreed to bring up with U.S. President Donald Trump the question of a ban on U.S. companies selling goods and software to Chinese telecommunication equipment maker ZTE Corp after representations from the Chinese side, the report said. ZTE faced the seven-year ban after the U.S. said it failed to keep to an agreement it made after breaching U.S. sanctions.

11.45am BST

Back with the trade talks, and Reuters is reporting some Chinese proposals to the US:

China proposed to the US it would increase imports of US goods and lower tariffs on some products including cars as part of bilateral trade negotiations, according to sources (RTRS)

11.27am BST

The latest business surveys from the eurozone suggest the weaker growth achieved in the first quarter of 2018 could be spilling over to the second.

The headline index on the IHS Markit services sector PMI fell to an eight-month low of 54.7 in April, from 54.9 in March.

The final PMI numbers confirm the marked, broad-based fading of the eurozone's growth spurt so far this year. The headline index has fallen from an 11-and-a-half year peak in January to a 15-month low in April.

Despite the drop, the PMI is not yet at a worryingly low level, but the survey details hint at further easing in the coming months.

10.43am BST

Here is our full story on the job losses planned at BT:

Related: BT set to cut 6,000 jobs

10.26am BST

Reports are coming from China of a leaked list of demands/wishes from the US trade delegation in Beijing.

On the list is the request that China cuts its trade surplus to $200bn by 2020, from more than $300bn in 2017.

*U.S. Trade Group Asks China to Issue Negative List for Foreign Investment by July 1, Document

*U.S. Trade Group Asks China to Cut Tariffs on All Products to Levels No Higher than U.S., Document

*U.S. Trade Group Asks China to Meet Quarterly to Review Progress, Document

9.54am BST

New car sales in the month of April from 2002-2018:

The UK new car market grew 10.4% in April, with 167,911 new units registered https://t.co/y6liZJATtp pic.twitter.com/hqYW0HGR3Z

9.52am BST

The rise in new car sales in April should be treated with caution, says Ian Gilmartin, head of retail at Barclays corporate banking:

The uptick in new car sales will be welcome news for many sellers, but we can't have it both ways - just as we partly attributed last month's poor result to an unfair comparison to an unusually strong March 2017 ahead of the tax changes, similarly April 2017 was relatively weaker after the VED increase came into force, which flatters today's numbers.

With the exception of last year, it is still the weakest April since 2013 but after a full year of declines, the industry will cheer a sales increase in whatever way it's achieved.

9.43am BST

Sales of new cars rose in April for the first time in a year, but the sharp decline in diesel sales continued.

New car registrations rose 10.4% compared with the same month last year, to 167,911 according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

It's important not to look at one month in isolation and, given the major disruption to last April's market caused by sweeping VED changes, this increase is not unexpected.

While the continuing growth in demand for plug-in and hybrid cars is positive news, the market share of these vehicles remains low and will do little to offset damaging declines elsewhere.

9.05am BST

Bad news for BT workers this morning as the British telecoms giant prepares to announce more than 6,000 job cuts next week, according to the Financial Times.

8.34am BST

With the exception of the CAC in France, major markets across Europe are higher this morning.

The latest scores:

8.24am BST

While investors are likely to welcome Steven Mnuchin's upbeat tone over in Beijing, expectations of a major breakthrough today remain low.

Lukman Otunuga, analyst at currency trading firm FXTM, explains:

The chances of a breakthrough trade deal from the two-day meeting are seen as highly unlikely. However, the talks could be a positive step for the two nations to avoid a potential trade war.

Although it is difficult to predict the outcome of the trade meetings, continual talks and negotiations between the Trump administration officials and Chinese officials may ease tensions.

8.03am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.