6th Mar 2015 06:59
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK stocks are set to open a touch lower Friday as investors continue to digest European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's comments at the ECB's monetary policy press conference Thursday and await the US non-farm payrolls later in the afternoon.
Draghi on Thursday said the ECB will start purchasing public sector bonds in the secondary market this coming Monday, March 9, under its USD1.1 trillion quantitative easing scheme announced in January. He reiterated that monthly purchases under the QE plan will be EUR60 billion and they will be carried out until the end of September 2016 "and will, in any case, be conducted until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation which is consistent with our aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2% over the medium term."
Draghi added that the ECB will purchase bonds with negative yields up to the deposit rate of -0.2%.
He also said inflation in the eurozone is likely to fall to zero in 2015, lower than the 0.7% projected previously. It is expected to pick up to 1.5% in 2016 and to 1.8% in 2017. Economic growth forecasts for this year were raised to 1.5% from the 1.0% seen in December. The growth projection for next year was boosted to 1.9% from 1.5%.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 4.6 points lower at 6,956.5. The index closed up 0.6% at 6,961.14 Thursday, a new record closing high for the index.
Wall Street also closed higher Thursday, with the DJIA ending up 0.2%, the S&P 500 closed up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite ended up 0.3%.
In Asia Friday, the Japanese Nikkei closed up 1.2%, while the Hang Seng trades down 0.1%, and the Shanghai Composite is down 0.2%.
In a much quieter day for corporate reporting than of late, there are full-year results from paving stone maker Marshalls, cooker maker AGA Rangemaster, and investment trust Athelney Trust.
In the economic calendar Friday, the focus will be on US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate and earnings data at 1330 GMT. Before that is German industrial production at 0700 GMT, UK consumer inflation expectations at 0930 GMT and eurozone fourth quarter GDP at 1000 GMT.
By Neil Thakrar; [email protected]; @NeilThakrar1
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