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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to end a largely upbeat year with a whimper, with traders likely to continue monitoring the Omicron variant's surge into the new year.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open down 32.41 points, or 0.4%, at 7,370.60 on Friday. The FTSE 100 closed down 17.68 points, or 0.2%, at 7,403.01 on Thursday - at this level putting the index's year-to-date gain at 15%.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3501 early Friday, firm on USD1.3495 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The pound held near the USD1.35 mark despite coronavirus cases in the UK continuing to soar, with daily infections standing at more than 189,000 on Thursday.
England is the exception among UK nations in not imposing extra virus curbs for the festive period, while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have imposed limits on how many people can socialise together and closed nightclubs.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the high booster take-up rate in England plus evidence that Omicron is milder have allowed the country to avoid more restrictions.
The euro traded at USD1.1311 early Friday, lower than USD1.1322 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was flat at JPY115.12 versus JPY115.14.
Markets in Germany and Italy are closed on Friday for New Year's Eve, while the London and Paris stock exchanges will shut early.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%, the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%
In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.6% on Friday, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended down 0.9%, while markets in Japan were shut for New Year's Eve.
Stocks in China outperformed after data showed manufacturing activity edged up in December, beating expectations as the price of commodities eased and despite sporadic closures due to Covid outbreaks.
The purchasing managers' index – a key gauge of manufacturing activity – in the world's second-biggest economy rose to 50.3 points, remaining above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction. The data from the National Bureau of Statistics marks a slight increase from last month's reading of 50.1 and beats expectations from analysts who had broadly predicted a slight decline.
"With the intensification of efforts to stabilize the economy, such as securing supply and stabilizing prices...the prices of some commodities have fallen significantly, and the cost pressure on companies has eased," said NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Gold was quoted at USD1,819.80 an ounce early Friday, higher than USD1,811.44 on Thursday. Brent oil was trading at USD79.46 a barrel, edging up from USD79.20 late Thursday.
In early UK company news, Mercia Asset Management said Reliance New Energy Solar, a subsidiary of India's Reliance Industries, has agreed to buy sodium-ion battery technology firm Faradion for an enterprise value of GBP100 million.
Mercia holds a 16% stake in Sheffield-based Faradion and expects to receive initial cash proceeds of GBP18.6 million, plus a further GBP800,000 ring-fenced for three months.
Everyman Media said Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Lake has decided to step down, and the cinema operator will soon start a search process for her replacement.
Griffin Mining said mining and milling operations have stopped at the Caijiaying mine for an extended break.
As is customary, operations will remain closed during the Chinese New Year holiday period, with the break extended into the first quarter of 2022 due to the Winter Olympics. Operations will resume on March 14.
"This will, obviously, cause a bleak financial first quarter for the company in 2022. However, we remain grateful to the various levels of government in the People's Republic of China," said Chair Mladen Ninkov.
Savannah Energy said its shares will resume trading on AIM on Friday after publishing an admission document for its Exxon Mobil and Petronas asset acquisitions.
Savannah on Thursday completed a placing and subscription, raising USD65 million, to progress the planned acquisitions of Exxon Mobil's and Petronas's assets in Chad and Cameroon. Earlier in December, Savannah announced it had signed separate share purchase agreements to acquire assets from Exxon Mobil and Petronas for a combined value of USD626 million.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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