FTSE 100 called up on BoE hold, pre-UK GDP

May 10, 2024 at 01:56 am EDT

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open up on Friday after a dovish Bank of England interest rates hold on Thursday, and with UK gross domestic product data due out shortly before the opening bell.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 39.2 points, or 0.5%, at 8,420.55 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 27.30 points, 0.3% at 8,381.35 on Thursday.

The latest UK GDP data will be released at 0700 BST.

At its May meeting, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 7 to 2 to maintain bank rate at 5.25%. Two members preferred to reduce the bank rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 5.00%.

Seven members, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Sarah Breeden, Ben Broadbent, Megan Greene, Jonathan Haskel, Catherine Mann and Huw Pill, voted in favour of the status quo.

Swati Dhingra and BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden voted for a cut.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2518 early Friday, higher than USD1.2511 at the London equities close on Thursday.

The euro traded at USD1.0776 early Friday, ticked up from USD1.0775 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY155.67 versus JPY155.61.

In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.9%, the S&P 500 up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.

In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was marginally up, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 2.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.5%.

Brent oil was trading at USD84.42 a barrel early Friday, higher than USD83.62 late Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will defend itself "alone" if necessary, after Washington threatened to withhold further arms should Israeli troops begin a large-scale push into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

He said Israel would fight "with our fingernails" to win, in his first public statement after the White House said it would restrict arms supplies in the case of a broader attack on Rafah.

Israeli operations in Rafah are so far mainly limited to the east of city, where an evacuation order was issued at the start of the week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Egyptian counterpart that the US opposes forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after Israel seized the border crossing at Rafah.

In a telephone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Blinken reaffirmed President Joe Biden's "clear position that the US does not support a major military operation in Rafah and the US' rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Blinken "also expressed the US' support for the reopening of Rafah crossing and the continued flow of urgently needed humanitarian assistance," Miller said.

Gold was quoted at USD2,358.01 an ounce early Friday, higher than USD2,332.88 on Thursday.

In Friday's corporate calendar, building materials firm CRH and British Airways owner IAG both release first quarter results, while online real estate agency Rightmove posts a trading statement.

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News senior reporter

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