(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly higher on Monday, as investors look ahead to key interest rate decisions from Japan, the US and the UK this week.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 5.8 points at 7,733.22 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 15.73 points, 0.2%, at 7,727.42 on Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2731 early Monday, lower than USD1.2735 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro traded at USD1.0887 early Monday, lower than USD1.0889 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY149.12, up versus JPY149.04.
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 2.7%.
Major Japanese media and economists are now betting that the Bank of Japan will drop its negative interest rate policy.
The central bank is scheduled to start a two-day policy board meeting on Monday, with Governor Kazuo Ueda's press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Citing "sources close to the matter", the Japan Times said the BoJ's policymakers have the requisite confidence that a "virtuous cycle" of wage growth and price hikes is taking place.
An interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve will follow on Wednesday, wih the Bank of England making its own decision the following day.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.9%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.3%.
The performance of China's economy in the first two months of 2024 was mixed, official figures showed Monday, with sluggish household consumption alongside increased industrial production reflecting an uneven recovery.
The highly anticipated comeback after Beijing lifted stringent Covid control measures in late 2022 was less robust than expected, and the world's second-largest economy now grapples with turbulence in the property sector, high youth unemployment and flagging consumption.
In January and February combined, retail sales – the main indicator of household consumption – increased 5.5% year-on-year, China's National Bureau of Statistics said.
But the figure was down from December, which saw an increase of 7.4%, and was slightly below the result anticipated by a Bloomberg survey of analysts, who had predicted a rise of 5.6%.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.5%, the S&P 500 down 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.0%.
Gold was quoted at USD2,147.32 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD2,162.90 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD85.61 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD85.33 late Friday.
In Monday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from Marshalls, a landscaping products company.
The economic calendar for Monday has a a eurozone consumer price reading at 1000 GMT, as well as trade balance data.
By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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