15th May 2025 06:46
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is set to open slightly lower on Thursday, as new figures show foreign investment in the UK fell during 2024.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 2.3 points at 8,582.71 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed down 17.91 points, 0.2%, at 8,585.01 on Wednesday.
Foreign investment in the UK declined last year as funding from the US slipped, new data shows. The UK secured fewer investment projects than France for the fifth year in a row, according to EY's annual UK attractiveness survey.
The number of foreign direct investment projects totalled 853 in 2024, down 13% on 2023's total. It was also behind the 1,025 secured by France during the year, but ahead of Germany's 608. US spending on projects fell by 11% in Europe and 7% in the UK, helping drag on the overall total.
Meanwhile, the UK secured half of all Indian funding into projects in Europe. The technology sector attracted the most investment in the UK, followed by transport manufacturers which include carmakers and aerospace firms.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3265 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3302 at the London equities close on Wednesday.
The euro traded lower at USD1.1188 early Thursday, against USD1.1208 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted down at JPY146.11 versus JPY146.43.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.7% higher.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Thursday that he was "cautiously optimistic" for progress towards peace in Ukraine, but that it was up to Russia to take the "necessary next steps".
"I'm still cautiously optimistic that if also the Russians are willing to play ball, and not only the Ukrainians are doing this... that you could get to some breakthroughs over the next couple of weeks," Rutte said at a NATO meeting in Turkey.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong faded 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed 0.2% higher.
Gold was quoted down at USD3,137.63 an ounce early Thursday, against USD3,184.56 on Wednesday.
Brent oil was trading lower at USD64.35 a barrel early Thursday, from USD66.01 late Wednesday.
In Thursday's corporate calendar, a trading statement from Aviva and full-year results from National Grid and United Utilities.
In the economic calendar on Thursday, eurozone industrial production and GDP figures, a UK GDP print plus US PPI, retail sales and industrial production figures.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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