(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher up on Monday, at the start of a busy week for central bank decisions.

The Federal Reserve, in the wake of a hotter-than-expected US jobs report, announces its final rate decision of the year on Wednesday. The Bank of England and European Central Bank take centre-stage on Thursday.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 4.5 points, 0.1%, 7,561.07 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 40.75 points, 0.5%, at 7,554.47 on Friday.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2542 early Monday, higher than USD1.2535 at the London equities close on Friday.

The euro traded at USD1.0768 early Monday, higher than USD1.0758 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted virtually unchanged at JPY145.52 versus JPY144.51.

"The economic calendar for the week is heavy. The US will announce its latest CPI update on Tuesday and the Fed will announce its latest policy verdict on Wednesday, then the Swiss National Bank, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will give their last verdict for this year on Thursday. All four major central banks are expected to keep their interest rates steady at the current levels, but we will closely scrutinize how they address the rate cut expectations that have been ahead of their skis since the end of October. Chances are that the accompanying statements will attempt to cool down the doves," Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented.

Average UK new seller asking prices fell by 1.9% in December, stronger than usual for the month, to GBP355,177, Rightmove House Price index data showed Monday.

House prices in the UK over a 20-year average fall by 1.5%, meaning this month's sharper drop shows sellers becoming more competitive.

New seller average asking prices ended the year 1.1% below a year ago, while sales agreed for the year to date in 2023's more challenging market are 13% lower, better than expected according to Rightmove Director of Property Science Tim Bannister, than in the same period a year prior.

In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.5%

In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.7%, though the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to fire several top ministers who are reportedly under investigation for alleged fraud, local media said Monday, in what would be the second reshuffle in three months.

Those to be axed, potentially as early as this week, include Kishida's right-hand man Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister of economy, industry and trade, the reports said.

According to the Asahi Shimbun daily, the total number to be sacked will be 15, including several deputy ministers and parliamentary vice ministers.

Gold was quoted at USD1,998.31 an ounce early Monday, down from USD2,006.01 on Friday.

Brent oil was trading at USD76.38 a barrel early Monday, up from USD76.00 late Friday.

In Monday's UK corporate calendar, business recovery firm Begbies Traynor posts half-year results.

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News senior reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.