11th Mar 2014 07:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK stocks are called to open fractionally higher Tuesday, following on from a moderately positive Asian session, as investors take their positions ahead of UK industrial and manufacturing data.
Both IG and CMC Markets call the FTSE 100 to open slightly higher at approximately 6,696 points, after it closed at 6,689.45 on Monday.
Ahead of the UK stock market open, Asian stocks are fractionally higher, having plummeted on Monday in the aftermath of disappointing Chinese trade data. The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite index are marginally higher, while the Nikkei in Tokyo has closed up 0.7%.
"With little in the way of data releases elsewhere, today?s focus will be firmly on the UK," says Nikesh Sawjani, UK macroeconomist at Lloyds Bank.
"January?s industrial production release will begin to provide a clearer view of the domestic economy in the first quarter, followed by the latest trade figures tomorrow," he says.
The reading is released at 0930 GMT, with economists forecasting output in January to have risen 0.2% on a monthly basis, slightly slower than the 0.4% growth recorded in the previous month.
Manufacturing production numbers, released at the same time, are expected to match December's growth of 0.3%.
Alongside the data, "the appearance of Monetary Policy Committee members (Mark) Carney, (Paul) Fisher, (David) Miles and (Martin) Weale before the Treasury Select Committee will be watched for further clues over individual member?s views of the current outlook," says Sawjani.
However, "with each member having expressed their individual views in recent speeches, we doubt today?s opportunity will provide much deviation," he says.
In data already released, a survey produced by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG has revealed that UK retail sales grew at a significantly slower pace in February. Total retail sales increased 0.7% year-on-year in February, notably weaker than the 5.4% gain posted in January.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan has refrained from initiating additional easing ahead of a planned sales tax hike in April that could dent the moderate recovery. The policy board decided by a unanimous vote to leave the size of its monetary easing unchanged. Accordingly, the bank will continue to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of JPY60 trillion to JPY70 trillion.
In the forex market, the euro has been knocked early Tuesday. The single currency slipped following the release of German trade data.
Although Germany's exports and imports came in slightly ahead of expectations at 2.2% and 4.1%, respectively, its trade surplus fell more-than-expected to EUR17.2 billion in January. Economists had expected a more modest decline to EUR17.7 billion in January, down from the EUR18.3 billion in the previous month.
Ahead of the UK equity market open, the euro trades at USD1.3863 and JPY143.196, while the pound trades at EUR1.1994.
Also in the data calendar Tuesday, the Italian fourth quarter GDP reading is released at 0900 GMT. The US Redbook index is scheduled for 1255 GMT, ahead of US wholesale inventories data for January at 1400 GMT. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research releases its UK GDP estimate for February at 1500 GMT.
In the corporate calendar, FTSE 250-constituents Computacenter, Inchcape, Hansteen Holdings, Close Brothers Group, Foxtons Group and esure Group, amongst others, have all released full-year results for 2013.
Mid-cap Fenner has released a pre-close trading statement.
By James Kemp; [email protected]; @jamespkemp
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