16th Dec 2024 07:00
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open in the red on Monday, ahead of flash composite purchasing managers' index data from the UK, France and other regions.
"A choppy day on Friday, with little by way of catalysts for market participants to digest," Pepperstone's Michael Brown reflected. "Now, a bumper final full trading week of the year lies in wait."
He continued: "A big week for the UK economy awaits – with the latest PMIs, jobs, inflation, and retail sales figures all due – though it's tough to imagine any of those providing much cause for optimism, or deterring the [Bank of England] from holding [the] bank rate steady at 4.75% on Thursday."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 6.9 points, 0.1%, at 8,293.43 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 0.1% on Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2633 early Monday, higher than USD1.2620 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro traded at USD1.0514 early Monday, higher than USD1.0494 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY153.67 versus JPY153.64.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2%, the S&P 500 marginally lower and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%.
"Away from FX, [Friday] was a 'day of two halves' on Wall Street, with solid overnight gains after impressive Broadcom earnings fizzling out as the day progressed, seeing the S&P 500 close flat, as the index notched its first weekly loss in three," Brown commented. "I remain an equity bull, with seasonality of course also favourable at this time of year, though would question the degree of conviction that participants may have in buying the dip at this juncture, with the S&P up 30-odd% YTD, and with just a handful of trading days left this year."
"That sort of environment can be a febrile one for 'weird' market moves, and that is exactly what we presently see in Treasuries. "
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was marginally lower. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.6%.
China's retail sales growth weakened last month, missing forecasts as demand remains muted in the world's number two economy.
Retail sales expanded 3% year-on-year in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said, slowing from a 4.8% rise in October that was its best reading in eight months. The figure fell significantly short of the 5.0% forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
Japan's flash composite purchasing managers' index showed the strongest rise in private sector activity since September, according to preliminary data published by S&P Global.
The au Jibun Bank Japan flash composite PMI posted 50.8 points for December, up from November's final reading of 50.1. The flash services business activity index was 51.4, up from 50.5, and the flash manufacturing output index reading was 49.4, slightly up from 49.2.
Gold was quoted at USD2,653.01 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD2,660.10 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD74.11 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD73.94 late Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Videndum releases a trading update.
In the economic calendar on Monday, Ireland releases trade balance data and the US has the New York empire state manufacturing index.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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