3rd Oct 2025 07:00
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, ahead of a swathe of composite purchasing managers index readings in the UK and eurozone.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 15.8 points, 0.2% at 9,443.53 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed down 18.70 points, 0.2%, at 9,427.73 on Thursday.
Sterling was at USD1.3436, up from USD1.3415 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.1720, up from USD1.1697 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JPY147.62 versus JPY147.37.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury narrowed to 4.10% on Friday from 4.11% on Thursday. The yield on the 30-year was unchanged at 4.70%.
Consumer confidence in the UK economy fell during the last quarter to its lowest point so far this year, according to a survey.
KPMG's latest Consumer Pulse survey of 3,000 UK consumers saw the number of people feeling that the economy is worsening increase to 62% from 51% in the last three months – up from 43% since 2025 began.
58% of consumers continue to feel financially secure, with no change since the last quarter. However, consumers say they are reducing or deferring spending, the survey found.
Elsewhere, Japan's unemployment rate grew to 2.6% in August from 2.3% in July, according to the Statistics Bureau of Japan. The reading surpassed the increase to 2.4% that was expected based on the consensus forecast cited by FXStreet.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% higher.
Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said: "Yesterday was yet another day investors swung between political shenanigans in the US and AI hype. Mood was not necessarily great in the early hours of trading across the Pacific after Trump’s threat to fire thousands of federal employees if the government shutdown drags on.
"And the government shutdown doesn’t sound like it will end soon, as Democrats are pushing for the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire in a few months, while Republicans don’t want to move ahead without securing funding."
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.8%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney gained 0.5%. Financial markets are closed in China on Friday for National Day.
Gold was higher at USD3,857.80 an ounce early on Friday from USD3,830.85 late Thursday. Brent oil was trading higher at USD64.57 a barrel from USD64.42.
Friday's global economic calendar has a slew of composite PMIs readings, including in the eurozone and the UK.
Friday's UK corporate calendar has full year results from pub operator JD Wetherspoon. September's US employment report will not be released on Friday due to the ongoing US government shutdown.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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