(Alliance News) - Equities in London were set to open a shortened trading day in the green on Friday, despite indices falling in Asia and the US.
The London Stock Exchange will close early at 1230 GMT on Friday for the festive period. It will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, before reopening on Wednesday.
Wall Street ended lower on Thursday after a revised GDP print showed the US economy grew faster than previously thought in the third quarter, fuelling fears around interest rate hikes.
Gross domestic product grew by 3.2% in the third quarter on a year before, the revised figures showed. This was an increase from the previous estimate of 2.9% growth. Market consensus cited by FXStreet had expected the estimate to remain at 2.9%.
Stocks in Asia also struggled.
In Japan, prices rose at their fastest pace since 1981 in November, data showed Friday, fuelled in part by higher energy costs. Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile fresh food costs, climbed 3.7% last month compared to a year earlier, data released by the internal affairs ministry showed.
Meanwhile, China has requisitioned medical supplies production across the country as millions struggle to obtain basic drugs and testing kits in the face of a surge in Covid-19 cases. Pharmacies in major cities have been stripped bare in the wake of the Chinese government's sudden decision to lift years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing.
Here is what you need to know ahead of the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 15.2 points, 0.2%, at 7,484.48
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Hang Seng: down 0.2% at 19,633.39
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.0% at 26,235.25
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.6% at 7,107.70
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DJIA: closed down 348.99 points, or 1.1%, at 33,027.49
S&P 500: closed down 56.05 points, or 1.5%, at 3,822.39
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 233.25 points, or 2.2%, at 10,476.12
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EUR: higher at USD1.0611 (USD1.0599)
GBP: higher at USD1.2042 (USD1.2028)
USD: higher at JPY132.63 (JPY132.32)
GOLD: lower at USD1,795.78 per ounce (USD1,796.92)
OIL (Brent): lower at USD81.49 a barrel (USD82.69)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Friday's key economic events still to come:
12:30 GMT UK financial markets close early for Christmas
08:30 EST US personal income and outlays
10:00 EST US University of Michigan survey of consumers
10:00 EST US new residential sales
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Planes, trains, driving lessons and postal deliveries are set to be disrupted by strikes in the days before Christmas in the UK. Thousands of Border Force, National Highways, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and Royal Mail employees are due to take industrial action on Friday. While these workers continue their strike into Saturday, staff represented by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, Abellio London bus workers, and Environment Agency employees will also launch separate waves of action. This follows two days of strikes by NHS staff, as thousands of nurses walked out on Tuesday, and ambulance workers joined picket lines on Wednesday.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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RBC cuts National Express price target to 180 (225) pence - 'outperform'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Automotive distributor Inchcape said all conditions have been met for its acquisition of Derco. This follows support from shareholders last week and approval from Peruvian authorities on Thursday. It expects completion to take place before the end of the year. Inchcape first announced the proposed GBP1.3 billion acquisition of the Latin America automotive distributor back in July. "The combination with Derco is a transformative and unique opportunity to accelerate our global distribution business," said Chief Executive Duncan Tait.
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Bluefield Solar Income Fund said it has acquired a 46.4 megawatt peak solar portfolio of two large ground-mounted solar assets. The renewables investor said the value of the portfolio is around GBP56.0 million, including its cashflows from May this year. The two assets are a 39.3 MWp solar photovoltaic plant in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and a 7.1 MWp facility in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Activist investor Crystal Amber Fund has requisitioned a general meeting to remove six directors of Hurricane Energy, including the executives and chair, and appoint two of its own. Crystal Amber wants to appoint Tony Buckingham and Franco Castelli as directors. They are the former heads of Albion Energy. It wants to remove Antony Maris and Richard Chaffe, and Non-Executive Chair Philip Wolfe, as well as its own nominees David Craik, John Wright and Juan Morera. Crystal Amber has been a shareholder in the energy company since 2013, and last year it managed to oust five directors and appoint two of its own.
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Indus Gas made little headway in the first half of its financial year ended September 30. The India-focused oil and gas company said revenue remained flat at USD27.4 million compared to GBP27.1 million a year before, as pretax profit edged lower to GBP22.8 million from GBP23.0 million. "The company is currently producing from the SGL field as well as the SSF & SSG fields, with production in line with current year projections," Indus said..
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The UK Competition & Markets Authority said it now has referred the proposed acquisition of one of Thales's businesses by Hitachi Rail to a phase 2 investigation. "The merger parties had until 16 December 2022 to offer an undertaking to the CMA that might be accepted by the CMA," the watchdog said. Thales and Hitachi did not provide any undertakings to the regulator by the deadline. Hitachi has agreed to buy Thales's ground transportation systems business.
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Kore Potash said Chief Operating Officer Gavin Chamberlain will conclude his employment at the end of January. Chamberlain has served as COO since September 2017 and he will leave at the time when the company is progressing the development of its potash projects. The company owns the Kola and DX potash projects in Republic of Congo. Kore said it intends to start recruitment for the construction phase of Kola during the first half next year, with the company in the process of finalising the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project.
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By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
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