28th Nov 2024 06:48
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open higher on Thursday, in what is expected to be a lighter day in terms of trading volumes, due to a US holiday.
Financial markets in New York are closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday. They return for an abbreviated session on Friday.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 15.3 points higher, 0.2%, at 8,290.05 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps rose 16.14 points, 0.2%, at 8,274.75 on Wednesday.
In New York overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6%.
In China on Thursday, the Shanghai Composite was 0.2% lower in late trade, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 1.2% lower. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney added 0.5%.
Investors were digesting another slew of US economic data which showed a pick up in an inflation measures and continued robust growth.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis the core personal consumption expenditures index rose 2.8% on-year in October, picking up speed from 2.7% in September.
The reading was in line with the FXStreet-cited market consensus. The core PCE is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.
The headline PCE index, which unlike the core data factors in food and energy, showed the pace of annual inflation rose to 2.3% last month, from 2.1% in August, also in line with consensus.
On month, headline PCE rose 0.2% while the core measure increased 0.3%, both as expected.
In a separate report, the BEA said the US economy expanded 2.8% quarter-on-quarter on an annualised basis in the three months to September 30, in line with a prior estimate.
Growth slowed from 3.0% in the second-quarter but was in line with expectations.
SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented: "Complementing this, the number of weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped more than anticipated, underscoring the labour market's robustness.
"Collectively and likely politically, this data drop bolstered market expectation that the Federal Reserve might opt for a 25-basis-point cut in its December meeting. Consequently, the dollar showed slight weakness. Even though we read core as very sticky, the market's obsession with inflation has dimmed for now."
The pound was quoted at USD1.2662 early Thursday, down from USD1.2687 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro faded to USD1.0550 from USD1.0579. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY151.57 from JPY150.71.
Brent oil was quoted at USD72.31 a barrel, falling from USD72.79. Gold slipped to USD2,635.46 an ounce from USD2,643.13.
The local corporate calendar has third quarter results from automotive engineering company Dowlais and full-year results from food processing firm Greencore.
The economic diary has a eurozone consumer confidence reading at 1000 GMT and German inflation data at 1300 GMT.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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