London pre-open: Flat start expected with investors nervous ahead of Greek referendum
UK stocks are expected to open flat on Friday morning as market pause for breath ahead of a quiet day, with investors awaiting a pivotal weekend for Greece.
Banks
4,008.17
16:59 23/04/24
BT Group
107.00p
16:40 23/04/24
Fixed Line Telecommunications
1,837.32
16:59 23/04/24
FTSE 100
8,044.81
16:49 23/04/24
FTSE 350
4,424.29
16:59 23/04/24
FTSE AIM 100
3,646.83
17:14 23/04/24
FTSE AIM All-Share
754.87
17:14 23/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,378.75
17:14 23/04/24
NATWEST GROUP
285.80p
16:35 23/04/24
Paysafe Group
590.00p
17:05 19/12/17
Support Services
10,639.30
16:59 23/04/24
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open four points lower than Thursday’s close of 6,630.47.
“With only tier-2 data releases in the calendar, Greece is likely to be at the centre of attention ahead of the referendum on Sunday,” said analysts at Danske Bank.
Nevertheless, news flow on Greece is likely to remain quiet, given that the government has confirmed that a referendum will go ahead as planned on Sunday, and that creditors have refused to discuss a bailout deal until after the public vote.
According to the head of the Hellenic Chambers of Commerce, Constantine Michalos, cash reserves at Greek banks were down to just €500m. Although banks were expected to reopen next week, Michalos said: “Anybody who thinks they are going to open again on Tuesday is day-dreaming. The cash would not last an hour.”
The Markit/CIPS UK services purchasing managers' index is likely to be the main event of the day for the City and comes on the back of mixed PMIs on the construction and manufacturing sectors earlier in the week. Analysts expect the PMI to have risen to 57.5 after falling to a five-month low of 56.5 in May.
Meanwhile, equity markets in the States will close early for a long weekend as the country holds its Fourth of July celebrations.
Stocks to watch
Royal Bank of Scotland faces a $13bn claim over allegations regarding its actions before the 2008 crisis, reports said. The bank was involved in a long running case in a US court over how it packaged mortgage bonds and sold them to government lenders overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
UK regulator Ofcom said on Friday that it has fined EE £1m for failing to comply with its rules on handling customer complaints. The investigation into Britain’s largest mobile phone company, which is currently in the process of being taken over by BT, was part of the regulator’s wider monitoring and enforcement programme to ensure communications providers deal with customer complaints appropriately and fairly.
Online payments group Optimal Payments said trading remained strong in recent weeks and that it planned, once its acquisition of rival Skrill is complete, to move from AIM to the main market, where it expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE 250 index. The company expects regulatory approval for the £800m deal to be granted before the end of July.