Last checked at 
LONDON (Alliance News) - London stocks are set to open higher Friday continuing their rebound, as the US markets marked a strong session on Thursday as a result of a pause in the dollar's appreciation in light of another weak US retail sales reading. Asian markets also are higher Friday.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 9.0 points higher at 6,770.0. The index closed up 0.6% at 6,761.07 Thursday, its second consecutive higher close, clawing back some of the sharp losses from the previous three days.
On Wall Street Thursday, the DJIA closed up 1.5%, the S&P 500 ended up 1.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.9%.
US retail sales fell unexpectedly in February according to a report by the Commerce Department on Thursday. It said retail sales slid by 0.6% following a 0.8% decrease in January. The drop surprised economists, who had expected sales to rise by 0.3%. Retail sales have now fallen in the US for the last three consecutive months. The figure saw the dollar drop against other major currencies for a time.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, says another quiet day of economic events Friday may mean traders will contemplate whether the correction in equities and the dollar is warranted or if people are "just a little too excited".
"I don?t think yesterday's move in the dollar or US equities in any way reflects people's changing views on a mid-year rate hike [from the US Federal Reserve] as one piece of data in isolation would rarely do that, even if core sales have declined for three months," Erlam says.
"This has been a disappointing start to the year from a consumer spending perspective but many other economic indicators are very healthy. What's more, with oil prices remaining low I think this puts the US consumer in an even better position as we head into the summer," he adds.
Ahead of the open Friday the pound trades at USD1.4873, and the euro at USD1.0592.
In Asia Friday, the Japanese Nikkei closed up 1.4%, despite a smaller-than-expected rise in Japanese industrial production in January according to final data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Industrial output advanced 3.7% month-on-month in January, slower than the 4% expansion estimated initially. In December, production grew 0.8%
The Hang Seng trades up 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite is up 0.7%.
FTSE 250 technical products and services company Diploma said it has struck a deal to buy the Kubo Group for up to CHF39.9 million in cash before acquisition costs. Kubo is a seals, O-Rings, gaskets and moulded rubber parts company with operations in Switzerland and Austria. Diploma is acquiring the business via Rutin AG, the non-trading holding company of Kubo based in Switzerland.
Oil services company John Wood Group said it has been awarded a contract by Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA to handle engineering modifications and upgrades to the Kollsnes process plant in Norway. Wood Group said the estimated value of the contract, including options and procurement, is NOK500 million, or GBP41.3 million. Wood Group's Mustang Norway unit started the work earlier this month, and the work is scheduled to finish in 2017.
British pub chain JD Wetherspoon also released half-year results.
In the economic calendar US producer price index is at 1230 GMT, and the Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is at 1355 GMT.
By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
