London stocks are set to open higher on Friday as investors continue to assess Thursday’s weaker-than-expected US jobs report ahead of a series of composite PMI readings.
Futures indicate the FTSE 100 will open up 24 points, or 0.2%, at 10,675.57. The index closed up 174.53 points, or 1.7%, at 10,652.87 on Thursday.
Sterling was steady against the dollar in early trade, quoted at USD1.3368 compared with USD1.3367 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, the pound eased to EUR1.1668 from EUR1.1681.
The euro edged up to USD1.1452 from USD1.1449, while the dollar rose against the yen to JPY161.13 from JPY160.87.
Investors continued to digest Thursday’s US employment report, which showed nonfarm payrolls increased by just 57,000 in June, well below expectations. The previous two months were also revised down by a combined 74,000 jobs.
Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said the data looked soft enough for markets to trim Federal Reserve rate-hike expectations this year, although inflation data will remain crucial in determining whether that shift continues.
US President Donald Trump also renewed criticism of Nato, describing the US relationship with the alliance as “one sided” less than a week before a summit in Ankara. His comments added to wider geopolitical uncertainty as investors monitored tensions over defence spending, Iran and the future direction of US foreign policy.
Brent crude was trading higher at USD72.33 a barrel on Friday morning, up from USD70.76 on Thursday.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%, while the S&P 500 ended flat and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%.
US equity markets are closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
In Asia, markets were broadly stronger. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% after Japan’s service sector returned to growth in June.
The S&P Global Japan composite purchasing managers’ index increased to 52.8 in June from 51.1 in May, beating the earlier flash reading of 52.5. The services PMI rose to 52.2 from 50.0, also ahead of the flash estimate.
In China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.7%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 1.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.4%.
Gold was higher at USD4,171.67 an ounce early Friday, up from USD4,124.43 late Thursday.
