11th Feb 2020 06:58
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Tuesday following a strong US close on Monday, rebounding from coronavirus-linked losses at the start of the week.
In addition, investor attention will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's take on the coronavirus fallout and the health of the US economy. The Fed chief will deliver his semi-annual testimony to Congress, appearing before the House financial services committee on Capitol Hill starting at 1500 GMT.
Anglo-German holiday operator TUI Group early Tuesday reported a sharply widened first quarter adjusted loss and tweaked its guidance range for underlying annual earnings due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 48.12 points higher at 7,495.00. The blue-chip index closed down 19.82 points, or 0.3%, at 7,446.88 on Monday.
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak surged past 1,000 on Tuesday as the World Health Organisation warned infected people who have not travelled to China could be the spark for a "bigger fire".
The rise came after President Xi Jinping made a rare visit to a hospital in Beijing, wearing protective gear as he chatted with medical workers and patients.
An advance team for a WHO-led international expert mission arrived in China as the country struggles to contain a viral epidemic that has now infected more than 42,000 and reached some 25 countries.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6%, S&P 500 up 0.7% and Nasdaq Composite up 1.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended at fresh record highs.
"The US equity market would have us believe that Uncle Sam is well equipped to contend with virus and that the long-term impact to domestic growth is negligible - a sentiment that will be tested when the Fed chairman appears before Congress today," said analysts at RMB.
In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.4%. Financial markets in Japan were closed for a public holiday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2915 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.2922 at the London equities close on Monday.
Outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will address the Lords Economic Affairs Committee at 1535 GMT on Tuesday.
The euro traded at USD1.0909 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.0920 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY109.91, up from JPY109.76.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will be speaking at 1400 GMT on Tuesday.
Gold was quoted at USD1,568.20 an ounce early Tuesday, lower than USD1,574.80 late Monday.
Brent was trading at USD54.08 a barrel early Tuesday, higher than USD53.58 late Monday.
The economic events calendar on Tuesday has UK GDP and industrial and manufacturing data at 0930 GMT.
The UK corporate calendar on Tuesday has annual results from online grocer Ocado Group.
By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]
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