London stocks are expected to open little changed on Friday, with traders eyeing key UK retail sales figures and flash PMI data from major economies later in the day.
According to IG, the FTSE 100 is forecast to edge up 6 points to 9,584, following a 0.7% gain on Thursday, when the index hit a new record high driven by energy and financial stocks.
Global sentiment has improved after the White House confirmed that US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping will meet in South Korea next week as part of Trump’s wider Asia tour, fuelling hopes of renewed diplomatic engagement between the world’s two largest economies.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on strong earnings, with Intel jumping 7.7% after reporting $4.27 billion in quarterly profit and better-than-expected results fuelled by AI-related demand.
However, sentiment was tempered by news that Trump abruptly suspended US trade talks with Canada, accusing Ottawa of “egregious behaviour” over an advertising dispute.
In Asia, markets were mixed: Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% after data showed inflation rising to 2.9%, though PMI figures indicated slower private sector growth across the region.
On the commodities front, Brent crude slipped to $64.99 a barrel, while gold eased to $4,109 an ounce. The pound was steady, trading around $1.3314 ahead of the UK data releases.
Traders will be closely watching retail sales figures and flash PMI readings across Europe and the US for further clues on the health of the global economy heading into the final quarter of the year.
