Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Friday tracking gains in US equity markets overnight, while investors await the release of US jobs data for June at 1330 BST.
In early company news, Ryanair reported a jump in passenger traffic as travel restrictions eased in June. Irish building materials firm Grafton Group completed its Finnish acquisition. Defence technology company QinetiQ Group appointed a new finance head. Online-only builders merchants CMO Group outlined plans for an initial public offering on AIM next week.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 17.54 points higher at 7,142.70. The blue-chip index closed up 87.69 points, or 1.3%, to 7,125.16 on Thursday.
Ryanair said it flew 5.3 million passengers in June, up sharply from 1.8 million in May and 400,000 in June 2020. Ryanair operated over 38,000 flights in June with a 72% load factor.
Last month, Ryanair added seats to destinations such as Malta and the Balearic Islands following their addition to the UK's travel green list, but urged the government to relax travel rules further.
Ryanair criticised the current traffic light system as being "very confusing" for airlines and customers.
QinetiQ said Chief Financial Officer David Smith will retire on November 30. Smith will be succeeded by Carol Borg on December 1, the company said.
QinetiQ noted Borg is currently the CFO of global solar developer Lightsource bp, a position she has held since 2017.
"Carol's proven financial and operational expertise in driving disciplined strategy execution, including organic growth and acquisitions, makes her a great complement to our team. I am absolutely delighted to welcome Carol to the QinetiQ family as we embark on our next five years of global growth," said Chief Executive Officer Steve Wadey.
Grafton Group said it has completed the acquisition of Isojoen Konehalli Oy & Jokapaikka. Last month, the Irish building products firm struck a deal to acquire the Finland-based PPE wholesaler for EUR199.3 million.
On the IPO front, online-only building materials retailer CMO Group said it is planning to float on London's junior AIM market on Thursday next week.
CMO Group is to raise GBP45 million from a placing by Liberum Capital of 34.1 million new and existing shares at an IPO price of 132 pence.
Based on the placing price, the market capitalisation of the company will be around GBP95 million on admission. CMO will have 72 million shares in issue and a free float of 46% per cent.
Key Capital Partners will retain 27% stake in CMO Group, while founders and management will own 17%.
"CMO has an exciting opportunity ahead as we continue to capitalise on our first mover advantage and digital platform to further increase market share as customers increasingly move online for their building materials requirements. We are particularly encouraged by the strong demand we have experienced from high calibre institutional investors which is clear validation of CMO's market opportunity and strong future growth potential," said Chief Executive Officer Dean Murray.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4%, S&P 500 up 0.5% and Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%. The S&P 500 set a record close for the sixth straight time.
In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.3% on Friday. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.8%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.9%, reopening after being closed on Thursday for a holiday. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 0.5%.
Economists expect US nonfarm payrolls to rise by 690,000 in June and the unemployment rate to edge down to 5.7% from 5.8% in May, according to consensus cited by FXStreet.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is bullish on the US economic recovery, predicting growth will hit 7% this year, much stronger than previously forecast and "the fastest pace in a generation", the fund said in a report Thursday.
The IMF's annual review of the US economy also boosted its 2022 GDP forecast by 1.4 percentage points over the April estimate to 4.9%. But while the IMF mostly cheered President Joe Biden's policies to support the economy, the report flagged "significant concern" over the fact he has not pulled back on tariffs on goods such as steel and aluminium imposed by his predecessor.
The US has seen a "remarkable recovery", the fund said, helped by "unprecedented" support from government spending and the Federal Reserve's "highly effective" stimulus measures.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3756 early Friday, down from USD1.3775 at the London equities close Thursday.
The euro stood at USD1.1837, lower from USD1.1851. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY111.60, flat from JPY111.59.
Brent oil was quoted at USD75.68 a barrel on Friday morning, up from USD75.52 at the London equities close Thursday. Gold was quoted at USD1,777.60 an ounce, higher against USD1,769.16 late Thursday.
Major oil-producing countries on Thursday failed to agree to boost output in August to meet growing demand and limit recent price rises, adjourning their meeting to Friday.
The 13 members of OPEC and 10 allies were expected to make a decision to continue to moderately increase output beyond July.
The OPEC+ grouping cut crude production after the pandemic sent oil prices crashing last year. But the group has slightly increased production since early May. Oil prices have recovered, this week reaching levels last seen in October 2018. OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia conferred Thursday via a teleconference.
But a subsequent technical meeting of OPEC members together with their 10 allies led by Russia failed to reach consensus, leading to discussions being postponed until Friday, according to an OPEC statement.
The economic calendar on Friday also has eurozone producer prices at 1000 BST.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
