LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: Fresh US Stimulus Hopes To Support Stocks

(Alliance News) - Stock market participants in London are looking on Friday to end a mixed week ...

Alliance News 20 November, 2020 | 7:00AM
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(Alliance News) - Stock market participants in London are looking on Friday to end a mixed week on a more upbeat note, following the renewed possibility of a US economic stimulus package.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 13.25 points higher, or 0.2%, at 6,347.60 on Friday. The FTSE 100 closed down 50.89 points, or 0.8%, at 6,334.35 on Thursday.

"US stimulus hopes are likely to be enough to keep equities in the green in Asia this afternoon and lift Europe modestly on its arrival. The follow-through is cautious though and lacks strong momentum," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda.

Aides to top US lawmakers met on Thursday for yet another restart to talks on a new stimulus spending package to aid the economic recovery from the coronavirus downturn.

The discussions, confirmed to AFP by a senior Democratic aide, come as Covid-19 cases surge nationwide and as the president of a regional Federal Reserve bank warned the US could see growth contract again in the fourth quarter.

The talks between the staffs of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, both Republicans, would address another pandemic relief package, the aide said.

Lawmakers have negotiated for months on passing such a bill, but haven't come to terms on how much to spend and what to spend it on.

"As the week ends, renewed hopes from the US fiscal stimulus talks will dictate direction. Having priced in two years of recovery in two hours after the Pfizer vaccine news last week, Moderna and AstraZeneca's announcements seem to have had a declining marginal effect. For sure, there is life still in that trade, but stimulus hopes in the US will take precedence in the short-term," said Oanda's Halley.

In the latest vaccine news, the US government and BioNTech's co-founder said an emergency use authorization request for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was expected to be filed with the US Food & Drug Administration on Friday.

This type of authorization is temporary or conditional and is granted in response to an emergency situation such as a pandemic – and may be revoked or modified if new efficacy or safety data emerge later.

In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended in the green, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.

In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.3%.  

Consumer prices in Japan fell 0.7% year-on-year in October, marking the biggest decline since March 2011 due mainly to a domestic travel subsidy program.

The core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, stood at 101.3 against a base of 100 for 2015, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications. Accommodation fees plunged 37% from a year earlier after the government launched the travel promotion campaign in July to reinvigorate the tourism industry and local economies hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Japanese private sector economy continued to struggle in November, estimates from IHS Markit showed on Friday, amid weakening demand conditions.

The headline au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index stood at 48.3 in November compared to 48.7 in October, signalling a deterioration in the health of the manufacturing sector for the nineteenth straight month.

Against the yen following the data, the dollar was softer at JPY103.77 versus JPY103.88 late Thursday.

The buck also was lower against the pound and euro amid Friday's more optimistic mood.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.3281 early Friday, higher than USD1.3225 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.1886 early Friday, up from USD1.1840 late Thursday.

Gold was quoted at USD1,866.62 an ounce early Friday, a touch higher than USD1,861.42 on Thursday. Brent oil was trading at USD44.14 a barrel, soft on USD44.22 late Thursday.

The economic events calendar on Friday has UK retail sales figures at 0700 GMT.

The UK corporate calendar on Friday has annual results from accounting software provider Sage Group.

By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com

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