19th Jun 2025 06:54
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly higher on Thursday, ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision.
The UK central bank announces the interest rate decision at midday London time on Thursday. It is expected to leave interest rates unmoved on Thursday, before resuming cuts in August.
Meanwhile in the US, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged amid expectations of higher inflation and lower economic growth, but still pointed to two reductions later this year.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 1.6 points higher on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.1% at 8,843.47 on Wednesday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3403 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3472 at the London equities close on Wednesday.
UK consumer sentiment improved in June to its highest level since December, but remained firmly in negative territory, survey data from the British Retail Consortium showed on Thursday.
According to the BRC-Opinium consumer sentiment monitor, expectations for the state of the UK economy over the next three months improved to a net score of negative 28, up from negative 36 in May.
Consumers' expectations for their personal finance situations also improved to negative 5 from negative 12.
"Gen Z saw the biggest improvement, in both economic outlook and their expectations of their future finances, with younger generations remaining the most optimistic about the future," said BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson.
Meanwhile, the UK Foreign secretary is set to meet his US counterpart in Washington after Donald Trump said he was mulling whether to join Israeli strikes against Iran.
David Lammy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will discuss the Middle East as potential American involvement in the conflict looms.
It comes after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened a Cobra meeting of senior ministers on Wednesday to give updates on ongoing diplomatic efforts and UK support for British nationals in the region.
The euro traded at USD1.1464 early Thursday, lower than USD1.1526 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY145.14 versus JPY144.65.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 1.85 points and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was marginally lower.
Gold was quoted at USD3,370.28 an ounce early Thursday, lower than USD3,387.84 on Wednesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD76.76 a barrel early Thursday, higher than USD75.06 late Wednesday.
In Thursday's corporate calendar, Informa and Whitbread hold annual general meetings, and XPS Pensions releases full-year results.
In the economic calendar on Thursday, look out for eurozone construction output and Switzerland's own interest rate decision.
US financial markets are closed for Juneteenth National Independence Day.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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