There were limited gains on London’s blue chip index this morning as investors awaited the publication of US non-farm payrolls data at 1230 (London time).

Industry economists are predicting that today’s figures could show a fall of up to 10,000 jobs, which would indicate the US economic recovery has hit the skids.

In terms of stock specifics, Sage Group was the worst performer on the index, slipping 3.6 per cent to 272.4 pence after analysts at UBS downgraded the accountancy software specialist.

Silver miner Fresnillo was the second worst performer despite an initial strong start from the miners. It dropped 3.3 per cent to 1,247 pence. BHP Billiton was initially one of the strongest performers but eased back.

Essar Energy completed the three worst performers, dropping 2.4 per cent to 482.3 pence.

At the other end of the table, BAE Systems led the limited gains in the second hour after it was upgraded by the analysts at HSBC from neutral to overweight.

The bank suggested that cuts to UK defence spending are likely to be less than anticipated, resulting in a difference of about 15 per cent.

BHP Billiton was up 1 per cent to 2,142.5 pence despite leading the index gains list initially while Shire plc gained 0.8 per cent to 1,431 pence.