5th Sep 2025 06:54
(Alliance News) - London blue chips were set to round off the week with a higher open on Friday, as new data showed UK retail footfall declined during August and US President Donald Trump announced he has cut the tariff rate on Japanese cars.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 21.1 points, 0.2%, at 9,237.97 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 38.88 points, 0.4%, at 9,216.87 on Thursday.
UK retail footfall declined at the same on-year pace in August as in July, data published by BRC-Sensormatic showed Friday.
Total UK retail footfall was down 0.4% in August compared to a year ago, the same pace of decline as in the previous month. High Street footfall was up 1.1% on-year in August, recovering from a 1.7% contraction in July. Retail Park footfall, meanwhile, fell 1.1% in August after 1.7% growth in July.
"The last budget imposed GBP7 billion in new costs which has limited retailers' ability to invest in local communities," commented Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium. "The government's planned reduction of business rates for retail and hospitality premises is the golden opportunity to change this, and the chancellor must use the budget to ensure that no shop pays more as a result of reforms."
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3453 early Friday, higher than USD1.3432 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro traded at USD1.1671 early Friday, up from USD1.1641 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted down at JPY148.20 versus JPY148.74.
The average rent being advertised across the Britain hit a record high of GBP1,577 per month in August, according to a property website.
Average advertised rents were 3% higher than a year earlier, with a constrained supply of homes contributing to rising rents, Rightmove said.
While the number of available homes to rent across Britain is 8% higher than a year earlier, it is still 27% lower than in August 2019, the website added.
Meanwhile, UK businesses spent nearly GBP236,000 each on artificial intelligence in the past year as they look to get ahead in the race to embrace the new technology, according to a report.
The latest Barclays business prosperity index survey found that large corporates with more than 250 workers invested the most – at an average of GBP400,000 on AI and emerging technologies over the past 12 months – compared with GBP225,500 from medium firms and GBP125,250 from small companies.
More than two thirds – 68% – of all businesses are also looking to increase this spend in the coming year as the AI revolution shows no sign of slowing.
The poll of 1,000 decision makers at firms found that almost 9 in 10 companies are turning to AI to solve key business issues, such as energy costs and infrastructure – with 32% having already hired or currently hiring for AI-focused roles and 42% planning to do so.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended in the green, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.8%, the S&P 500 also improving 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite gaining 1.0%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo advanced 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.9% higher. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.6%.
US President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday to lower tariffs on Japanese autos, as Washington moves to implement its trade pact negotiated with Tokyo.
Japanese autos will face a 15% tariff instead of the current 27.5%, while the level for many other goods will similarly be capped at 15%, according to the text of the executive order published by the White House.
Gold was quoted up at USD3,556.69 an ounce early Friday, against USD3,543.56 on Thursday. Brent oil was trading at USD66.82 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD67.02 late Thursday.
In Friday's corporate calendar, a trading statement from housebuilder Berkeley Group and full year results from investment management firm Ashmore.
In the economic calendar on Friday, the Halifax UK house price index will be out shortly, as will UK retail sales figures, with US nonfarm payrolls figures to follow later.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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