25th Apr 2025 06:49
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, ahead of the UK chancellor's meeting in Washington to negotiate a possible US-UK trade deal.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 13.6 points, 0.2%, at 8,421.04 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 4.26 points, 0.1%, to 8,407.44 on Thursday.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will meet her US counterpart on Friday as she attempts to make progress on a trade deal during her visit to Washington.
Reeves is expected to discuss a potential UK-US trade deal when she sits down with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after a series of talks with other finance ministers at the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings earlier this week.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3287 early Friday, lower than USD1.3292 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro traded down at USD1.1335 early Friday, from USD1.1351 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY143.61 versus JPY142.72.
Talks on strengthening UK-EU relations have made "good progress", Downing Street has said following a meeting between Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The UK prime minister welcomed von der Leyen to Number 10 on Thursday ahead of a UK-EU summit next month aimed at "resetting" Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the bloc.
A Downing Street spokesperson described Thursday's meeting as "long and productive", covering areas including Ukraine, energy security, the global economy and defence.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended in the green, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.2%, the S&P 500 also 1.2% higher and the Nasdaq Composite improving 2.7%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo climbed 1.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 1.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney is closed for Anzac Day.
US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that trade negotiations with China were ongoing, despite statements from Beijing that his comments on talks were "fake news."
Responding to questions about negotiations with China during a White House meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Trump said: "Well, they had a meeting this morning, and we met with China."
The latest comments came after a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday rejected Trump's assertion that talks with China were occurring "every day."
"As far as I know, there have been no consultations or negotiations between China and the US on the tariff issue - let alone an agreement," the spokesman said.
Gold was quoted lower at USD3,313.89 an ounce early Friday, from USD3,324.20 on Thursday.
"The recent flow of mixed economic data points to a gradual slowdown in US economic growth, while inflation continues to show signs of easing. This reinforces investor confidence that a rate-cutting cycle could begin as planned in September," said XS.com analyst Linh Tran.
"As such, the outlook for gold remains broadly positive. With growth momentum slowing, rate-cut expectations becoming more concrete, and geopolitical risks still elevated, gold is fundamentally supported. If these key factors persist, the precious metal is well-positioned to sustain the strong uptrend that has been building since the beginning of the year."
Brent oil was trading at USD65.93 a barrel early Friday, down from USD66.10 late Thursday.
In Friday's corporate calendar, trading statements from advertising group WPP and bookmaker Evoke.
In the economic calendar on Friday, UK retail sales and consumer confidence data, and Canadian retail sales figures.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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