8th Nov 2024 07:03
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, while the Chinese government is expected soon to announce a large support package for its still-struggling economy.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 18.2 points, 0.2%, at 8158.94 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed down 0.3% on Thursday.
In a widely expected move, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted decisively by 8 to 1 to lower rates to 4.75% on Thursday.
Governor Andrew Bailey said it is too early to determine what impact Donald Trump's US re-election will have on the UK.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2966 early Friday, lower than USD1.2985 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro traded at USD1.0781 early Friday, lower than USD1.0791 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JPY152.75, down versus JPY153.11.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down less than 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.5%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said he will not step down if Donald Trump asks for his resignation, speaking after the Federal Reserve reduced the federal funds rate range by 25 basis points to 4.50%-4.75%.
The Fed cited progress on inflation. Powell also said Trump's election would have no impact on near-term rate decisions, given that the substance of government policy was unknown.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.8%.
In China, economists predict Beijing will approve a huge support package worth hundreds of billions of dollars, focusing on indebted local governments and cash for banks to write off non-performing loans.
Gold was quoted at USD2,687.95 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD2,697.24 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD74.96 a barrel early Friday, nearly flat against USD74.91 late Thursday.
In Friday's corporate calendar, Rightmove and Vistry both release trading statements.
In the economic calendar on Friday, look out for trade balance data from France, and the US Michigan consumer sentiment index.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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