LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: Stocks seen higher as UK shop prices fall

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Tuesday, ahead of inflationary data ...

Alliance News 27 August, 2024 | 6:06AM
Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Tuesday, ahead of inflationary data from the US, and following news that UK shop prices have entered deflation for the first time since 2021.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 0.6% higher at 8,368.00. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.5%, at 8,327.78 on Friday.

According to the British Retail Consortium, during the first week of August, UK shop prices decreased 0.3% year-on-year, below the three-month average no change and compared with July's annual inflation of 0.2%.

Non-food prices showed 1.5% deflation in August, compared with 0.9% deflation in July and leaving inflation "at its lowest rate since July 2021". Food prices remained in inflation, but this slowed to 2.0% from 2.3%.

The data comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to make a speech this week, where he will compare his task as leader to that of the communities that rallied round to clean up in the wake of the summer's riots.

Starmer will use his speech to warn that "frankly – things will get worse before we get better" as the Labour administration tries to deal with "not just an economic black hole but a societal black hole".

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes in her budget on October 30 after accusing the Tories of leaving a GBP22 billion shortfall in the public finances.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.3193 early Tuesday, higher than USD1.3220 at the London equities close on Friday.

The euro traded at USD1.1166 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.1193 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY144.82 versus JPY144.80.

In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended predominantly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, but the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.9%.

In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.2%.

Gold was quoted at USD2,512.30 an ounce early on Tuesday, lower than USD2,515.73 on Friday.

Brent oil was trading at USD81.29 a barrel early on Tuesday, higher than USD78.88 late Friday.

In Tuesday's corporate calendar, there are full-year results from BHP Group, and half-year results from Woodside Energy Group.

In the economic calendar on Tuesday, there is a GDP reading from Germany in the morning, followed by a handful of data from the US, including consumer confidence data.

By Holly Beveridge, Alliance News senior reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

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