(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, ahead of key economic data out of the US which investors hope will provide further insight into the future moves of the US Federal Reserve.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open up 29.95 points, or 0.4%, at 7,663.40. The FTSE 100 index closed up 48.26 points, 0.6%, at 7,633.45 on Thursday.
The US will publish non-farm payrolls at 1330 GMT ahead of an ISM services PMI print at 1500 GMT.
On Thursday, US private employment rose by 235,000 jobs in December, according to figures from payroll firm ADP.
The rise in private employment came well above market consensus, as cited by FXStreet, which had expected 150,000 jobs to be added.
CMC Markets' Michael Hewson said that the "resilience" in these numbers has lent support to the idea that the Fed will likely hike rates by another 50 basis points at the start of February.
"Today could be yet another example of good news being bad news for stocks, as rising rates and a stronger currency exert downward pressure on valuations," he continued.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended sharply lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending down 1.0%, the S&P 500 down 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.5%.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index was up 0.6%.
The Japanese service sector ended the year with a further expansion in output and order books, data from S&P Global showed.
The au Jibun Bank services business activity index rose to 51.5 in December, from 50.3 in November.
The reading marked the fourth month of consecutive growth in activity for the Japanese service sector. Analysts at S&P Global attributed the rise to an uplift in tourism and sustained improvement in Covid-19 conditions.
Meanwhile, the composite purchasing managers' index rose to 49.7 in December, from 48.9 in November. The rate of contraction was softer than in November.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.7%.
The euro traded at USD1.0519 early Friday, lower than USD1.0525 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY134.08, up versus JPY133.89.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.1911 early Friday, higher than USD1.1890 at the London equities close on Thursday.
Rail passengers in the UK face a fourth consecutive day of travel disruption because of a strike by thousands of workers in a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
Services will be halted by the walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Network Rail and 14 train operators.
Brent oil was trading at USD79.40 a barrel early Friday, higher than USD78.48 late Thursday. Gold was quoted at USD1,839.53 an ounce, sharply higher than USD1,828.35.
In Friday's corporate calendar, there is a trading statement from ten pin bowling operator Ten Entertainment.
In the economic calendar, at 1000 GMT there will be a flash estimate for EU inflation alongside retail trade data. Before that, the UK will publish at construction PMI print at 0930 GMT.
By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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