The FTSE 100 is expected to take a breather on the Monday before Christmas after a strong run last week, as fresh business surveys painted a downbeat picture of the UK economy.
Futures point to the London benchmark opening around 10 points lower, following a week in which the index climbed 248.42 points, or 2.6%, to finish at 9,897.42.
Sentiment has been dented by a survey from the Confederation of British Industry, which warned that private sector output is on track to fall in the final quarter of the year. The CBI reported declining activity across all sectors in the three months to December, with expectations remaining subdued for the first quarter of next year.
Separately, data from jobs website Adzuna showed UK vacancies fell 6.4% month-on-month in November, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
Elsewhere, US futures are mostly higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both called up 0.3% and 0.5% respectively, while the Dow Jones is flat, after a mixed week on Wall Street. Asian markets are firmly in positive territory, led by a 1.8% gain for Japan’s Nikkei, while India’s Sensex and China’s Shanghai Composite are both up around 0.6%.
