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LONDON (Alliance News) - Analysts are mixed on the likely opening direction for London shares prices Friday, with investors likely to focus on speeches by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, and the revision to fourth quarter US GDP.
Analysts say concerns about a slowing US economy, a looming deadline for Greece, and another flash point in the Middle East in form of Yemen appears likely to prompt another bout of profit taking across European markets.
"Investors appear to have played it very safe this week and who can blame them," says Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda. "I think we?ve seen a lot of profit taking this week, some balancing of the books and basically, preparation for the weeks ahead which could be quite rocky if earnings are as weak as is widely anticipated."
Erlam believes the FTSE 100 will open 11 points higher Friday, while CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson sets an opening 20 points higher for the blue-chips index. However, IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 3 points lower at 6,892.3, minutes after indicating a slightly opening Friday morning.
The index ended lower Thursday for third consecutive session, down 1.4% at 6,895.33, amid a broad global equities sell-off, as concerns that the technology sector had become overvalued were compounded by the fresh crisis in the Middle East that sent oil and gold prices sharply higher.
Brent crude is slightly down in the day, quoted at USD58.41 a barrel Friday, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is quoted at USD50.75 a barrel. Gold is also slightly higher Friday at USD1,203.56 an ounce.
Investors will focus Friday on a speech by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney at the Bundesbank in Frankfurt, starting at 0845 GMT.
UK house price growth softened for the seventh consecutive month in March, the Nationwide Building Society reported Friday. House prices advanced 5.1% year-on-year in March, slower than February's 5.7% increase. The annual growth was also slower than a 5.3% rise forecast by economists.
However, house prices rose 0.1% on a monthly basis offsetting a 0.1% drop seen in February. Economists had forecast a 0.2% rise for March.
A speech in the US after the London market close is likely to grab attention, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco at 1945 GMT.
Meanwhile, the revision to US GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2014 is due at 1230 GMT. "Expectations are for an upward revision from 2.2% to 2.4%, with personal consumption likely to be the main driver of the upgrade," says analyst Michael Hewson.
Wall Street ended lower Thursday. The DJIA closed down 0.2%, the S&P 500 ended down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 closed down 1.0%.
Consumer prices in Japan rose at a slower rate of 2% in February from a year earlier due to plunging oil prices, the Japanese government said Friday. The rate dropped from the 2.2% rise in January and has slowed for the seventh consecutive month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
The core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, stood at 102.5 in February against a base of 100 for 2010, the ministry said. Excluding the effect of a sales tax increase in April, the inflation rate would be zero in February - well below the 2% target set by the Bank of Japan in April 2013.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng trades down 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite is trading up 0.4%.
In London, FTSE 100-listed telecoms group Vodafone Group said it has signed a new partner deal with Botswana Telecommunications. Under the deal, Botswana Telecommunications will become Vodafone's preferred partner in Botswana, and the two companies will jointly offer businesses and consumers a range of products and services. No financial details were disclosed on the deal.
Antofagasta said the heavy rainfall in the Atacama desert in Chile has resulted in the company suspended operations at three of its mines. The FTSE 100-listed Chilean copper miner said it has suspended operations at the Centinela, Antucoya and Michilla mines, all of which are located in the desert.
It said the suspension was primarily to ensure the safety of employees, though it said some processing of stockpiled material has been possible. The impact of the rain on its operations is currently being assessed and operations are expected to return to normal as the situation improves.
Still in the corporate calendar Friday, Carnival is due to release 2015 first quarter results at 1400 GMT.
By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com
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