18th Jul 2025 06:57
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, ahead of the latest US consumer sentiment data, while the earnings season continues stateside, following numbers from streaming service Netflix overnight.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 28.1 points higher, 0.3%, at 9,000.74 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 46.09 points, 0.5%, at 8,972.64 on Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3418 early Friday, slightly higher than USD1.3414 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.1549 early Friday morning, lower than USD1.1594 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY148.77, up versus JPY148.48.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 up 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%.
The latest move in tariffs saw the US unveiled preliminary anti-dumping duties of 94% on imports of graphite from China.
Final determinations regarding the tariffs on graphite, used in batteries, are expected in early December, according to the US Commerce Department. Its investigation came after a petition by the American Active Anode Material Producers late last year.
On Thursday, Census Bureau data showed US retail sales were more robust than expected in June, while the US Department of Labor said a lower number of Americans filed for new unemployment benefits last week, defying expectations of an increase.
"All that helps to reinforce the bull case for equities, with this solid underlying economic momentum likely to see earnings growth remain healthy, and further progress on the trade/tariff front also helping things along nicely," said Pepperstone analyst Michael Brown commented.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.8% higher. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney shot up 1.5%.
In Sydney, BHP was 2.9% higher. It reported record annual production of iron ore and copper, despite ongoing global volatility and uncertainty, with the latter benefiting from growing demand stemming from the renewable energy sector and electrification.
The Melbourne, Australia-based diversified miner said copper production rose 8.1% to 2.0 million tonnes in the financial year ended June 30, up from 1.9 million tonnes in the previous year. Meanwhile, iron ore production for the year grew 1.3% to 263.0 million tonnes from 259.7 million tonnes.
Gold was quoted at USD3,334.00 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD3,338.20 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD69.77 a barrel, up from USD68.94.
On Friday's calendar, there is a Germany producer price reading at 0700 BST, before the Michigan consumer sentiment index in the US at 1500.
On Friday's UK corporate calendar, private equity firm Bridgepoint releases its half-year results.
And on the global corporate calendar there are half-year results from American Express.
Out overnight, Netflix lifted its full-year guidance after reporting quarterly results and expressed confidence in sustained revenue growth driven by strong subscriber momentum, an expanding advertising business, and upcoming content releases.
The Los Gatos, California-based streaming service provider said net income rose 46% to USD3.13 billion in the second quarter ended June 30 from USD2.15 billion a year before, while revenue increased 16% to USD11.08 billion from USD9.56 billion.
Looking ahead, Netflix raised its full-year revenue forecast to between USD44.8 billion and USD45.2 billion, from a previous range of USD43.5 billion to USD44.5 billion. In 2024, the company generated USD39.0 billion in revenue.
The stock fell 1.9% after hours in New York, however.
"Overall, the muted response to Netflix's share price on the back of this earnings report may be down to its lofty valuation," XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks commented.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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