27th Sep 2024 07:01
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, ahead of the inflation clues likely to come with the US personal consumption expenditure release.
"Due today, the Fed’s favourite gauge of inflation, the core PCE index, is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2% on a monthly basis, and print a small uptick – from 2.6% to 2.7% - on a yearly basis," Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya noted. "Additionally, the personal income may have risen faster, but personal spending a bit slower than the previous month.
"A set of data in line with expectations will certainly keep the soft-landing vibes in play and secure a 43rd record high for the S&P500 before the weekly closing bell."
Asian indexes edged upwards on Friday amid a move by China's central bank to cut bank reserve requirements, adding significant liquidity to financial markets.
"Could this euphoria last? Maybe," commented Ozkardeskaya. "The structural and balance sheet challenges, heavy local debt burden, the ageing population, deflation and loss of confidence are hard to reverse. Enthusiasm could fade rapidly if the economy doesn’t react.
"Today, all we have in hand is that the Chinese industrial profits grew 0.5% [year to day] in August, meaningfully down from 3.6% printed a month earlier. Ouch."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 8.9 points, 0.1%, at 8,293.81 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.2% at 8,284.91 on Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3378 early Friday, lower than USD1.3412 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro traded at USD1.1162 early Friday, lower than USD1.1179 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY146.22, up versus JPY144.69.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 2.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.9%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed slightly higher.
Gold was quoted at USD2,663.83 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD2,669.65 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD70.83 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD71.58 late Thursday.
In Friday's corporate calendar, there are no major events scheduled but several smaller companies, including Clean Power Hydrogen and Trinity Exploration, release half-year results.
In the economic calendar it's another busy day, including eurozone confidence data; German unemployment figures; and US trade balance and wholesale inventories.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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