London pre-open: Quiet start as investors await Draghi, Eurozone retail sales, OECD
London-listed stocks are set for modest gains on Wednesday morning as investors await stronger direction, following little change in the US and a mixed picture in Asia over night.
Currys
61.75p
16:40 26/04/24
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
General Retailers
3,910.25
16:59 26/04/24
Industrial Transportation
4,387.46
16:59 26/04/24
International Distributions Services
271.20p
16:40 26/04/24
Interserve
6.05p
16:54 15/03/19
Support Services
10,641.76
16:59 26/04/24
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open just 3-4 points higher than Tuesday's close of 6,928.27.
With Greece providing a tense backdrop, trading will also be directed by President Mario Draghi's press conference.
Analysts predict the ECB will keep all its key rates unchanged, holding the refinancing rate at 0.05%, the deposit facility at -0.20% and the marginal lending facility at 0.3%.
Shortly after the announcement, Draghi’s press conference will be closely followed for word on how the quantitative easing (QE) programme has been progressing.
The QE package was introduced in March to help bring inflation back towards the ECB’s target of just below 2%.
The Eurozone returned to inflation in May, Eurostat revealed in a preliminary estimate on Tuesday. The consumer price index rose 0.3% year-on-year last month compared to 0% in April and analysts’ expectations for a gain of 0.2%.
Wednesday’s agenda also sees the release of data on Eurozone retail sales, OECD’s economic outlook, UK Nationwide house prices, and a batch of service PMIs in the Eurozone, China, Japan, the UK and the US.
Analysts will also be watching out for the US ADP private payrolls report ahead of the official non-farm payrolls figures on Friday.
Dixons, Royal Mail, Interserve
After a strong fourth quarter Dixons Carphone said its full year profits are likely to reach the top end of market forecasts. Group like-for-like revenue in the last 17 weeks of the year to 2 May rose 9%, with further market share gains made across electricals and mobile in the UK & Ireland, the Nordics and Greece.
Royal Mail announced that it has appointed Peter Long as non-executive director and chairman designate. Long, who is currently joint chief executive of TUI AG, will replace Donald Brydon, who announced in January that he would step down this year.
Interserve's joint venture with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has been selected as the preferred bidder to build the £550m One Nine Elms scheme in Battersea. The scheme, which is part of a wider development, includes the construction of two towers of 57 and 42 storeys and a 187-room five-star hotel.