16th Jan 2025 06:58
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Thursday, ahead of US initial jobless claims.
"UK data once again kicks things off this morning, with November's GDP data due," commented Pepperstone's Michael Brown. "The figures are set to point to the economy having grown by 0.2% MoM, snapping a 2-month long run of consecutive contractions. Still, the figures are highly unlikely to materially alter the [Bank of England] outlook, or the stagflation narrative with which the UK must grapple.
"Meanwhile, the US economic calendar also features plenty of notable releases. December's retail sales print is the most significant, given the pivotal nature of consumer spending in underpinning the continued economic expansion. Headline sales are seen rising 0.6% MoM over the festive period, building on the solid 0.7% MoM gain seen in November."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 24.8 points, 0.3%, at 8,325.93 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed 1.2% higher on Wednesday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2219 early Thursday, lower than USD1.2243 at the London equities close on Wednesday.
The euro traded at USD1.0288 early Thursday, slightly lower than USD1.0293 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JPY156.17 versus JPY156.51.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.7%, the S&P 500 up 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.5%.
US economic conditions improved in November and December against a backdrop of modest inflation and a stable jobs market.
According to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, economic activity increased slightly to moderately across the twelve Federal Reserve Districts in late November and December.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 1.4%.
Japan's producer price index showed a 3.8% on-year increase in prices for December, in line with FXStreet-cited consensus and unchanged from November when PPI rose 3.8%. On a monthly basis, PPI rose 0.3% despite consensus prredicting a 0.4% increase.
Australia's unemployment rate increased to 4.0% in December from 3.9% in November, in seasonally adjusted terms.
The participation rate, which tracks those actively looking for jobs, rose to 67.1% in December from 67.0% in November. Full-time employment decreased by 23,700 people to 10.0 million employees, while part-time employment rose by 80,000 to 4.5 million people.
Gold was quoted at USD2,693.18 an ounce early Thursday, higher than USD2,683.65 on Wednesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD81.44 a barrel early Thursday, flat against USD81.46 late Wednesday.
In Thursday's corporate calendar, Safestore releases full-year results while Antofagasta and Rio Tinto release trading statements.
In the economic calendar on Thursday, releases include German and Irish consumer price inflation, and trade balance data from the eurozone and UK.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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