3rd Mar 2025 06:53
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday, ahead of UK and US manufacturing PMI data scheduled for release today.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 54.6 points higher, 0.6%, at 8,864.34 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.6% at 8,809.74 on Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2596 early Monday, higher than USD1.2588 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro traded at USD1.0407 early Monday, flat against USD1.0406 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY150.44 versus JPY150.38.
Manufacturing conditions in Ireland continued to improve in February, numbers showed Monday.
The AIB Ireland manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 51.9 in February, up from 51.3 in January.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.4%, the S&P 500 up 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.6%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.9%.
China's manufacturing sector expanded at a greater rate in February driven by higher output and new orders, S&P Global reported Monday.
The Caixin China general manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.8 in February, up from 50.1 in January, surpassing the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 50.3.
Employment, however, remained under pressure as many firms continued to prioritise cutting costs.
Gold was quoted at USD2,863.50 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD2,848.92 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD72.91 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD72.62 late Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Bunzl and Senior both release full-year results.
In the economic calendar on Monday, multiple regions including the eurozone, Germany, US and UK release their manufacturing PMI figures.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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