15th May 2015 05:59
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares are set to open unchanged Friday, as with no significant European economic data to be released attention is likely to be on updates from London-listed blue-chips such as Coca-Cola HBC and Intertek.
"The market isn?t exactly lacking volatility even in the absence of data at the moment. Moves in the bond markets spurred on by rising inflation expectations and low liquidity are creating plenty of market volatility," says Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
"The sell-off in bond markets does appear to be slowing though now following what was quite a dramatic decline in a very short period of time. This was especially surprising considering the European Central Bank is taking the other side of that trade which usually piles downward pressure on yields, but it appears that in a low liquidity and highly anxious market, the central bank has met its max," writes Erlam.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open flat at 6,973.50. The index closed up 0.3% at 6,973.04, tracking the US markets higher, with movements in volatile bond markets again proving the main driver for the equities markets.
Wall Street ended higher Thursday. The DJIA closed up 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite ended up 1.4%. The S&P 500 ended up 1.1%, reaching a new closing high at 2,121.10.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 trades up 0.8%, and the Hang Seng is up 0.3%. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite is trading down 2.1%.
Also the corporate calendar Friday, Bovis Homes Group, Tyman and Enquest issue interim management statements.
In the economic calendar, in the US, industrial production is due at 1415 BST, while the Reuters/Michigan consumer sentiment index is at 1500 BST.
By Daniel Ruiz; [email protected]
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Related Shares:
Bovis HomesTymanCoca-Cola HBCEnquest