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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Tuesday, following the long Easter weekend.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 39.2 points, 0.5%, at 7,780.76 on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 index closed up 78.62 points, or 1.0% at 7,741.56 on Thursday.
European markets were closed on Friday and Monday for Good Friday and Easter Monday. Markets in New York closed on Friday, but reopened on Monday.
On Monday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.3%, the S&P 500 rising 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite ending marginally lower.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2407 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.2436 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.0889, lower than USD1.0919.
The yen weakened, with the dollar quoted at JPY133.28, firmer versus JPY131.72.
Japan's new central bank chief said Monday no major rate hikes were on the horizon, and that a long-standing loose monetary policy remained "appropriate".
Kazuo Ueda took over this month from Haruhiko Kuroda, the bank's longest-serving governor and architect of a monetary policy intended to help boost the world's third-largest economy.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index was up 1.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 1.2%.
In China, stocks were weaker following discouraging economic data. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was marginally lower.
China's consumer price inflation fell below 1% in March, official figures showed, a sign of weak demand as the world's second-largest economy tries to recover from its pandemic-driven slump.
The March consumer price index – the main gauge of inflation – came in at 0.7%, down from the 1% seen a month earlier, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
Beijing is targeting an average inflation rate of 3% for 2023, which is still far below the current rates of many developed economies.
Sky Bet and Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment is setting the stage to appoint John Bryant as its new chair, according to Sky News on Saturday.
According to Sky, the FTSE 100-listed gambling firm is in talks with Bryant, a US-based businessman, and senior independent director at catering company Compass Group.
Citing a person "close to the process", Sky reported that the appointment of Bryant was at an advanced stage, but was not yet finalised.
The move comes amid Flutter's plans for an additional US listing.
Gold was quoted at USD1,999.84 an ounce early Tuesday, lower than USD2,009.21 on Thursday. Brent oil fetched USD84.78 a barrel, a touch lower than USD84.88.
In Tuesday's corporate calendar, there's annual results from Devolver Digital and JTC.
In the economic calendar, there's eurozone retail trade figures at 1000 BST.
By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
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