2nd Jan 2025 06:45
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on the first trading day of 2025, with manufacturing sector data from the UK, Europe and US on the way.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 14.8 points higher, 0.2%, at 8,187.82 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps ended up 52.01 points, 0.6%, at 8,173.02 on Tuesday, the final trading day of 2024. It added 5.7% over the course of last year.
The pound faded to USD1.2529 early Thursday, from USD1.2535 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro fell to USD1.0361 from USD1.0402. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY156.87 from JPY156.74.
A barrel of Brent rose to USD74.71 from USD74.21. Gold climbed to USD2,634.22 an ounce from USD2,610.61.
The Shanghai Composite in China slumped 2.3% in a weak start to 2025. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 2.0%. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.5%. Financial markets in Tokyo are closed on Thursday.
China's manufacturing sector remained in expansion territory at the end of the year, but the pace of growth ebbed, according to survey results on Thursday.
The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 50.5 points in December, from 51.5 in November, sliding closer to the 50 mark that separates growth from decline.
"The latest data signalled that conditions in the manufacturing sector improved for a third consecutive month. The fall in the PMI however indicated that the pace of growth eased since November and was marginal overall," survey publisher S&P Global said.
"Manufacturing production in China increased for a fourteenth successive month in December. That said, the rate of expansion decelerated to a marginal pace as new order growth slowed. While improvements in underlying demand and successful business development efforts led to incoming new orders rising for a third straight month, the rate of growth eased on the back of softening external demand. Indeed, export orders contracted after increasing at the fastest pace in seven months in November."
In New York on Tuesday, stocks rounded off a strong year with a decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 lost 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.9%.
On Thursday, eyes turn to a slew of purchasing managers' index readings, including one from the UK at 0930 GMT, after the eurozone at 0900.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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