26th Jun 2024 06:59
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Wednesday, with some confidence returning to the equity market after US technology shares recovered overnight.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 17.4 points higher, 0.2%, at 8,265.19 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 33.76 points, 0.4%, at 8,247.79 on Tuesday.
In China on Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite was flat. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 0.1% higher. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 1.3%, though the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney fell 0.9% after a hotter-than-expected Australian inflation reading.
In New York on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.8% lower. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.3%.
Among the tech shares recovering was chipmaker Nvidia, adding 6.8%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2685 early Wednesday, rising from USD1.2676 on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.0705, unmoved from a day prior. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY159.79, up from JPY159.73.
Brent oil was quoted at USD84.58 a barrel, down from USD85.05. Gold was quoted at USD2,313.56 an ounce, fading from USD2,324.50 an ounce.
In the local corporate calendar, online electricals retailer AO World reports annual results.
Focus remains on political developments in the UK and France, with elections looming.
The Westminster gambling row has deepened after a Cabinet minister revealed he had placed bets on the date of the UK general election.
Scotland Secretary Alister Jack denied having broken any rules but said he put three wagers on the timing of the July 4 poll, becoming the latest of seven politicians and officials to get drawn in to the controversy.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will face further pressure over the revelation, which comes after he caved to mounting calls from within the Tory Party to withdraw support for two parliamentary candidates facing a Gambling Commission investigation.
Labour was also dragged into the row on Tuesday, with the party suspending its candidate Kevin Craig after it emerged he had bet that he would lose to the Tories in the contest for Central Suffolk & North Ipswich.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and the chief of the main far-right party Jordan Bardella clashed in an ill-tempered debate Tuesday that exposed fierce tensions less than a week ahead of the most polarising election in decades.
Attal, Bardella and hard-left MP Manuel Bompard, representing the left-wing coalition, exchanged accusations in a sometimes bruising live TV encounter where discussion of issues was often drowned by a cacophony of voices.
Bardella's National Rally still has a clear lead in opinion polls ahead of Sunday's first round of voting in the parliamentary elections, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front coalition with President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance lagging in third.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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