6th Jan 2025 06:50
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to tread water on Monday, with investors awaiting impetus from a slew of purchasing managers' index readings to come later in the morning, before US jobs data on Friday.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 0.1 points lower at 8,223.88 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 36.11 points, 0.4%, at 8,223.98 on Friday.
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.6% in late dealings. It was the first day of trading this year in Tokyo. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%. The Hang Seng Index was also down 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney edged up 0.1%.
Monday's global economic diary sees a raft of composite PMI releases. Later in the week a batch of US jobs data points will grab attention, culminating in Friday's nonfarm payrolls.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2443 early Monday in London, up from USD1.2414 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro rose to USD1.0311 from USD1.0297. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY157.65 from JPY157.33.
A barrel of Brent faded to USD76.04 from USD76.33. Gold fell to USD2,630.84 an ounce from USD2,641.67.
"Back to the grindstone we go, as the first full trading week of the year awaits, bringing with it a busy data docket, highlighted by Friday's US jobs report," Pepperstone analyst Michael Brown commented.
"The year properly gets underway now, though I do wonder whether we see the seemingly typical dramatic shift in sentiment in a fortnight's time. Participants, traditionally, reassess their initial positioning around the time of Martin Luther King Jr Day (20th January), which this year coincides with the inauguration of President-elect Trump. That would, then, seem a natural juncture for some de-risking, and lightening up of positions, in preparation for the early days, and actions, of Trump's second term in office."
The speaker of the US House said Sunday he was pushing an "aggressive" timeframe for getting a multi-trillion-dollar bill addressing immigration, tax cuts and more to Donald Trump's desk by April, within his first 100 days in office.
Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow congressional Republicans are eager to help the incoming president enact his campaign promises, including unprecedented border security spending, business deregulation, boosting energy production and raising the US debt ceiling.
But with a new razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives and similarly tight Senate margins, Democratic opposition could stymie the efforts.
US stocks closed sharply higher on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8%, the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.8%.
This week's local corporate calendar is dominated by Christmas trading statements from retailers Next, B&M European Value Retail, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and J Sainsbury. Shell also updates on trading on Wednesday.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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