LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: Asian markets rebound but FTSE called lower

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening lower on Thursday, as the UK earnings ...

Alliance News 29 July, 2021 | 5:57AM
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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening lower on Thursday, as the UK earnings calendar climaxes, though markets in Asia bounced after China attempted to soothe investors nerves over recent regulatory moves.

Stocks in New York closed mixed on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve struck a more hawkish tone. The central bank said the US economy has made progress against its maximum employment and price stability goals for any QE tapering.

IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 4.3 points, 0.1%, lower at 7,012.33. The blue-chip index closed up 0.3%, or 20.55 points at 7,016.63 on Wednesday.

"Markets in Asia rebounded strongly on reports that Chinese regulators told firms that Chinese firms would be allowed to list in the US as long as they met listing requirements. The rebound in Asia doesn't appear to be translating into a rebound in Europe with shares here set to open slightly lower," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson commented.

In addition, Beijing moved to calm investors after a crackdown on some of China's biggest firms rattled markets, with regulators calling bankers in for a last-minute call Wednesday night, Bloomberg reported.

The call hosted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission included executives of international investment banks, Bloomberg said.

The business models of private tutoring firms were obliterated by a shock announcement on Saturday that they must become non-profits, sending stock prices crashing.

In China on Thursday, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 3.4%. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was 0.7% higher and the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.5%.

Tencent, whose stock has been battered by regulatory fears, added 10% on Thursday, though is still 7.4% lower than it was at the end of last week.

Stocks closed mixed in New York on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.4%, the S&P 500 ended largely flat, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%.

"Like in June, the Fed statement was more hawkish than anticipated at the July meeting," analysts at Danske Bank commented.

Indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to tick up, the central bank said, while it reiterated its belief that recent inflation strength is being driven by "transitory" factors.

Inflation could rise higher and stay there longer than expected as the US economy recovers from the downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said.

The dollar was weaker early on Thursday.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3939 on Thursday morning in London, up from USD1.3881 at the equity market close on Wednesday. The euro was priced at USD1.1859, up from USD1.1807. Against the yen, the dollar weakened to JPY109.70 from JPY110.09.

Gold advanced to USD1,818.03 per ounce early Thursday from USD1,800.47 late Wednesday. A barrel of Brent oil was changing hands at USD75.13, up from USD74.62.

A full UK corporate calendar has earnings from pharmaceutical firm and Covid-19 vaccine maker AstraZeneca, miner Anglo American, contract caterer Compass, Smirnoff vodka maker Diageo, lender Lloyds Banking, oil major Royal Dutch Shell, and medical technology firm Smith & Nephew, among others.

Thursday's economic calendar has eurozone consumer confidence at 1000 BST and German inflation at 1300 BST, followed by US initial jobless claims and a GDP reading at 1330 BST.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

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