LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: FTSE called up after BoJ hike; Fed to come

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open higher on Wednesday, shaking off a poor ...

Alliance News 31 July, 2024 | 5:53AM
Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open higher on Wednesday, shaking off a poor trading day for US tech shares overnight, ahead of a US interest rate decision.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 54.1 points higher, 0.7%, 8,328.51 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 17.94 points, 0.2%, at 8,274.41 on Tuesday.

Stocks in New York ended mixed on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, but the S&P 500 lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.3%.

Equities in Asia powered higher, however. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.8% in afternoon dealings, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong traded up 1.9%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1%, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 1.5%.

The Bank of Japan lifted its main interest rate Wednesday for just the second time in 17 years in another step away from its long-standing ultra-loose monetary policies.

The central bank said in a statement it had set an interest rate of 0.25% – up from around 0% to 0.1% – having ditched its maverick negative rate policy aimed at boosting economic growth in March.

"Moves to raise wages have been spreading" in Japan while "economic activity and prices have been developing generally in line with the bank's outlook", the BoJ said.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2836 early Wednesday, up from USD1.2829 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.0821, up from USD1.0808. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY153.10, down from JPY153.88. The dollar had traded as low as JPY151.60 after the BoJ decision, before the yen lost some poise.

Next up on the central banking agenda is the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to leave rates unmoved later Wednesday. The Fed decision is at 1900 BST.

In New York overnight, shares in Microsoft struggled in after hours trade following fourth-quarter earnings, falling 2.7%.

In the three months to June 30, the Redmond, Washington computer software and hardware provider said net income rose 9.8% to USD22.04 billion from USD20.08 billion a year prior. Diluted earnings per share rose to USD2.95 from USD2.69. Revenue increased 15% by USD64.73 billion, up from USD56.19 billion.

EPS had been expected to land at USD2.93 per share and revenue of USD64.39 billion, according to the LSEG consensus.

Brent oil was quoted at USD79.42 a barrel early Wednesday, rising from USD78.51 at the time of the closing bell in London on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at USD2,418.31 an ounce, rising from USD2,384.97.

Wednesday's UK corporate calendar has earnings from drugmaker GSK, lender Metro Bank and housebuilder Taylor Wimpey.

Before the Fed decision, the economic calendar has a eurozone inflation reading at 1000 BST and German unemployment data at 0855 BST.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
Microsoft Corp 422.92 USD -0.89

About Author

Alliance News

Alliance News provides Morningstar with continuously updating coverage of news affecting listed companies.

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures