London pre-open: Rise of around 40 points expected on FTSE
Atkins (WS)
2,081.00p
16:49 30/06/17
FTSE 100
8,139.83
17:09 26/04/24
FTSE 250
19,824.16
16:59 26/04/24
FTSE 350
4,470.09
16:59 26/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,423.59
17:14 26/04/24
Mining
10,486.86
16:59 26/04/24
Rio Tinto
5,453.00p
16:39 26/04/24
Support Services
10,641.76
16:59 26/04/24
London's blue chips are set for a positive start to the week, with the FTSE expected to rise above 6,700 at the opening bell.
A gain of around 40 points above Friday's closing level of 6,689.08 is predicted, despite mixed trading in Asia overnight and in the US on Friday evening.
Here in the UK, Monday morning's focus will be on the latest housing asking prices, which registered a sharp month-on-month decline of 2.9% to £262,401. The decline was the biggest ever seen in Rightmove's records for a month of August.
That came as separate figures revealed confidence in the UK economy has dropped for the second month in a row as downbeat economic news starts to dampen spirits.
Optimism about Britain's overall economic health fell to 274 points from May's high of 285 points, with feelings in northern England tending to be the least positive, according to the Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report for July.
Aside from these readings and that of the Eurozone trade balance, today is expected to be fairly quiet on the macro front, with investors instead gearing up for events taking place later this week.
"A lack of economic data is forcing investors to focus on the major events coming later in the week, particularly the release of the minutes from the Bank of England and Federal Reserve meetings, and the Jackson Hole symposium which will host Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday and ECB President Mario Draghi on Friday," Alpari UK analyst Craig Erlam said.
"While it's difficult to pick a standout event from these, as all have great potential to create major waves in the markets, I would say Yellen's key note speech on Thursday just about takes it. Despite its apparent openness, it feels like the Fed has chosen to keep its cards very close to its chest in recent months, as no central bank that is seeing such a strong recovery can possibly be as dovish on rates as the Fed is making out."
On the company front, mining group Rio Tinto said it will decide on the future of its majority stake in a long-dormant copper mine in Papua New Guinea. Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), in which Rio owns a 58.83% interest, had been producing copper and gold from its Panguna project until mining stopped in 1989. New legislation passed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) last week now means that BCL has lost the right to mine at Panguna, with its mining licence being converted to an exploration lease.
Engineering consultancy WS Atkins has announced plans to dispose of its Polish business for £2.8m. This business, which employs 77 people, reported revenue of £5m in the year ended 31 March 2014. Chief executive officer Prof Dr Uwe Krueger, said: "The sale of our Polish business is a further step forward in the implementation of our strategy to optimise our portfolio of businesses, and focus our investment in markets where the group can deliver profitable growth."
NR