The FTSE 100 is expected to open 23 points higher on Friday, according to spread betting firms, as the index looks to conclude the first full trading week of the year on a positive note following the achievement of a new record high on Tuesday.
London’s blue-chip index surrendered earlier gains to close Thursday’s session down three points at 10,044, weighed down by weakness in energy stocks and a sharp decline of more than 7% in Tesco shares after the retailer reported disappointing third-quarter results.
Asian markets were mostly higher in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.3%, and China’s SSE Composite Index advanced 0.9%. South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.8%, while India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.8%. Australia’s ASX 200 closed largely unchanged.
Overnight, Wall Street delivered a mixed performance. A rally in defence-related stocks lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.6%, while declines in major technology names, including Nvidia, Apple, and Meta, pushed the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%. The S&P 500 ended the session broadly unchanged.
Investors weighed the potential implications of a weaker or stronger US employment report for interest-rate expectations at the Federal Reserve and for equity market leadership. Attention also turned to the possible consequences of any ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States on tariffs, although any longer-term impact on markets is widely viewed as limited.
In the UK, data pointed to a sharper decline in retail footfall in December, while commodity prices edged higher. On the corporate front, Glencore confirmed that it is engaged in preliminary merger discussions with Rio Tinto. The macroeconomic calendar remains busy, with key releases including US non-farm payrolls, Canadian employment data, eurozone retail sales, and a trading update from Sainsbury’s.
