20th Mar 2015 07:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - Analysts are mixed on the likely opening direction for London share prices Friday, with the focus on the renewed negotiations between Greece and its European creditors, as investors also continue to scratch their heads over the recent Federal Reserve statement in which the central bank removed the word "patient" from its guidance but said it isn't "impatient" to raise US interest rates.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 19 points higher at 6,981. The index closed higher for a fourth consecutive session Thursday, up 0.3% at 6,962,32, being a relative bastion of calm as other markets and asset classes proved volatile following the Fed's statement.
However, Oanda analyst Craig Erlam believes the FTSE 100 will open 4 points lower at 6,958 points.
CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler expects the blue chip index to open up, but by only 6 points higher at 6,968. "With the market?s fixation on central bank intervention; stock, bond and FX markets have been more tightly linked than usual. Volatility has been the name of the game in currency markets for the last forty-eight hours with the FOMC inserting another side to what has recently been a one-way bet on the US dollar," he says.
"The volatility is likely to die down in the next few days but a battle will certainly still be raging between dollar-bulls and bears. With major currencies massively oversold at multi-year lows and the Fed having shifted rate-hike expectations, the US dollar may become a bit more sensitive to disappointing economic data than it has been," Lawler adds.
In Europe, Greece will submit a "full list of specific reforms" within days, top European officials said early Friday, after talks on how to let bailout funds flow to the cash-strapped country. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was "more optimistic" after the meeting in Brussels between European leaders.
"All the sides confirmed their intention to try to do their best to overcome the difficulties of the Greek economy as soon as possible," he said. "Today we put the process back on its rails," he added. "Greece will propose its own reforms, which it will implement."
Athens and its European partners have had trouble seeing eye to eye since Tsipras' leftist government assumed office in January on a promise to end the austerity associated with EUR240 billion in rescue loans that Greece has received since 2010.
Wall Street ended mixed Thursday. The DJIA closed down 0.7%, the S&P 500 ended down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite outperformed, closing up 0.2%.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 closed up 0.4%, and the Hang Seng trades down 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite is trading up 0.9%.
Brent crude is quoted at USD54.33 a barrel Friday, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is quoted at USD45.42 a barrel. Gold is quoted early Friday at USD1,170.89 an ounce.
In UK company news early Friday, British Land said it has completed a GBP733 million property exchange deal with fellow FTSE 100 constituent Tesco. Under the terms of the deal, British Land has sold its 50% stake in a joint venture portfolio of 21 standalone food stores to supermarket chain Tesco and has acquired Tesco's 50% interest in two joint venture portfolios, which primarily comprise Tesco-anchored shopping centres and retail parks. As part of the deal, Tesco will get GBP96 million from British Land.
Royal Dutch Shell said it has completed the sale of its 30% interest in the oil mining lease 18 in Nigeria, along with related facilities in the Eastern Niger Delta, for USD737 million in cash. The FTSE 100-listed oil company said the sale of the licence has been completed through its Shell Petroleum Development Co of Nigeria business and said the 30% interest in the licence has been assigned to Eroton Exploration & Petroleum.
Still in the corporate calendar Friday, Investec will issue a trading statement.
In the economic calendar, eurozone current account is at 0900 GMT. UK Public sector net borrowing is at 0930 GMT.
By Daniel Ruiz; [email protected]
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