6th Jan 2025 08:47
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Monday, ahead of a week when US jobs data and eurozone inflation readings will be in focus.
On Monday, a slew of purchasing managers' index grab investor attention, meanwhile.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 17.45 points, 0.2%, at 8,206.53. The FTSE 250 was up 36.75 points, 0.2%, at 20,628.15, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.42 points, 0.2%, at 726.82.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 822.51, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% higher at 18,029.82, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.1% lower at 15,915.03.
The CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.2% higher.
US stocks closed sharply higher on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8%, the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.8%.
Monday's global economic diary sees a raft of composite PMI releases. Later in the week a batch of US jobs data points will grab attention, culminating in Friday's nonfarm payrolls.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2469 early Monday in London, up from USD1.2414 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro rose to USD1.0336 from USD1.0297. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY157.74 from JPY157.33.
A barrel of Brent faded to USD75.94 from USD76.33. Gold fell to USD2,627.74 an ounce from USD2,641.67.
Lloyds Bank analysts commented: "The first full week of 2025 will be a busy one on the economic data calendar, even though political dynamics are likely to continue to overshadow other news. In the US and UK the dominant theme is the labour market, whilst in the euro area attention will be on flash inflation for December. German inflation estimates are due today, with the euro area aggregate tomorrow which should see energy price base effects push the headline rate up 0.2ppts to 2.4% y/y. The core rate is expected to hold at 2.7% y/y though.
"Aside from Wednesday's Fed minutes the labour market focus starts with job openings tomorrow, ADP on Wednesday, jobless claims on Thursday and the monthly employment report on Friday where Lloyds economists expect headline payroll growth of 172k for December. Ahead of inauguration and in the context of Powell saying at the last FOMC meeting that further easing depended on further progress with the strength of the labour market and on inflation, even a weak employment report might not move market expectations that much."
Lloyds analysts added: "By contrast labour market indicators remain front and centre in the UK with the latest REC/KPMG and BoE Decision Maker Panel surveys due on Thursday. Last month the latter showed a sharp decline in employment intentions immediately following the budget. A similarly weak follow-up outturn could start to solidify more 2025 rate cut expectations."
The speaker of the US House said Sunday he was pushing an "aggressive" timeframe for getting a multi-trillion-dollar bill addressing immigration, tax cuts and more to Donald Trump's desk by April, within his first 100 days in office.
Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow congressional Republicans are eager to help the incoming president enact his campaign promises, including unprecedented border security spending, business deregulation, boosting energy production and raising the US debt ceiling.
But with a new razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives and similarly tight Senate margins, Democratic opposition could stymie the efforts.
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.5%. It was the first day of trading this year in Tokyo. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.1%. The Hang Seng Index was down 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney edged up 0.1%.
North Korea on Monday fired a missile just as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Korea, where he sought a stable course on foreign policy as political turmoil engulfs the US ally.
Blinken visited just as investigators were trying to arrest conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has entrenched himself in his residence after being impeached for a failed attempt to impose martial law.
In a reminder of common challenges that go beyond domestic politics, North Korea on Monday fired a ballistic missile into the sea just as Blinken was holding meetings in Seoul, according to the South Korean military.
"Our military detected one projectile presumed to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile" launched toward the East Sea, South Korea's military said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
In London, Rolls-Royce shares were down 3.3%, the worst FTSE 100 performer. Citigroup cut the jet engine maker to 'neutral' from 'buy'.
RBC raised Experian to 'outperform' from 'sector perform'. Shares in the consumer credit checking score company were up 1.5%.
On the decline in the junior AIM market, Engage XR fell 14%. Engage XR warned revenue will come in below market expectations, due to delays in finalising some larger Middle East pacts.
The virtual reality technology company expects to report 2024 revenue of EUR3.4 million, down from EUR3.7 million in 2023, and below market expectations. This is due to "delays in finalisation of some larger contracts in the Middle East and the continued delayed deployment of the previously announced contract with a Middle Eastern client".
Its loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is expected to be EUR4.0 million, unmoved on-year.
It added: "Looking ahead, the group anticipates significant growth opportunities through working with partners in the Middle East throughout 2025 and beyond in both education and training verticals. The group's strong pipeline is evidence of the progress being made with partners in the Middle East and in the USA."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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