27th Feb 2023 06:52
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set for a more positive start on Monday, after ending last week in the red.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open up 21.5 points, 0.3%, at 7,900.16 on Monday. The FTSE 100 index closed down 29.06 points, or 0.4% at 7,878.66 on Friday.
Equities had come under pressure after a hotter-than-expected inflation reading from the US.
According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the personal consumption expenditures index increased 5.4% on-year in January. The rate of PCE inflation quickened from 5.3% in December and came in markedly ahead of the FXStreet cited consensus of a slowdown to 4.9%.
Core PCE inflation, the Federal Reserve's preferred price gauge, quickened to 4.7% on-year in January, from 4.6% in December. The figures suggest inflationary pressures are proving stickier than ideal.
"On Friday all notion of a possible pause appears to have gone the way of the dodo, in the face of a series of better-than-expected economic data releases, with markets now pricing in another three 25 basis point rate increases at the March, May, and June Fed meetings," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
The dollar was slightly firmer in early exchanges.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.1931 early Monday, lower than USD1.1947 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro traded at USD1.0536, lower than USD1.0545. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY136.32 versus JPY136.31.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street closed in the red, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending down 1.0%, the S&P 500 down 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.7% lower.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.7%.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 1.1%, with Woodside Energy closing up 1.5%.
Woodside Energy boasted a "transformative" year in 2022 having completed the merger with the BHP assets, and exceeding annual production guidance.
The Perth-based oil and gas firm said annual operating revenue jumped to USD16.82 billion from USD6.96 billion a year before. This was thanks to the more "diverse portfolio" after the BHP asset merger, as well as higher pricing and a strong operational performance.
Pretax profit nearly trebled to USD9.19 billion from USD3.49 billion. Net profit came in at USD6.58 billion, compared to USD2.4 billion. Diluted earnings per share increased to 426.3 US cents from 204.1 cents.
Woodside recommended a final dividend of 144 US cents, bringing the full-year total to 253 cents, up sharply from 135 cents in 2021.
Total annual oil production increased to 157.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Looking to 2023, it expects production to increase further, to a range of 180 to 190 MMboe.
Gold was quoted at USD1,809.02 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD1,811.07 on Friday. Brent oil was trading at USD82.65 a barrel, higher than USD81.83.
In Monday's UK corporate calendar, outsourcer and distributor Bunzl and components and systems manufacturer Senior will release full-year results. Primark-owner Associated British Foods will publish a trading statement.
In the economic calendar, there is an EU economic sentiment reading at 1000 GMT.
By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Woodside Energy