15th Jan 2025 06:56
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Wednesday, ahead of consumer and producer price inflation data from the UK, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves remains defiant against criticism following market turbulence.
The chancellor faced questions in the Commons after the cost of government borrowing increased and the value of the pound fell in recent days, putting her plans for the nation's finances at risk.
Reeves told MPs: "We have seen global economic uncertainty play out in the last week. But leadership is not about ducking these challenges, it is about rising to them. The economic headwinds that we face are a reminder that we should – indeed, we must – go further and faster in our plan to kickstart economic growth."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 20.1 points, 0.3%, at 8,221.64 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 0.3% on Tuesday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2200 early Wednesday, flat against USD1.2202 at the London equities close on Tuesday.
The euro traded at USD1.0296 early Wednesday, flat against USD1.0295 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JPY157.32 versus JPY157.95.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.
"Markets were choppy on Tuesday, as participants digested fresh tariff news, and cooler than expected US PPI figures, ahead of the more widely-watched CPI metric, and start of Q4 earnings season, today," commented Pepperstone's Michael Brown.
"That said, something of a more optimistic tone did seem to prevail as the day progressed, with risk appetite initially receiving a fillip on the back of reports that President-elect Trump may 'phase in' tariffs gradually over a period of time, increasing levies by between 2% and 5% per month, as opposed to the 'everything, all at once' approach that had previously been expected."
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.2%.
Gold was quoted at USD2,682.34 an ounce early Wednesday, higher than USD2,673.07 on Tuesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD79.71 a barrel early Wednesday, lower than USD79.84 late Tuesday.
In Wednesday's corporate calendar, there are trading updates from Currys, Vistry and Experian.
In the economic calendar on Wednesday there is CPI data from France, a GDP reading from Germany, Ireland's trade balance and industrial production figures from the wider eurozone.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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