(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Thursday, building on Wednesday's gains as confidence in the equity market builds after the softer-than-expected UK inflation data.
Eyes now shift to the nation's gross domestic product data reported at 0700 GMT. Numbers are expected to show that the UK economy shrank 0.1% on-quarter in the final three months of 2023.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 31.3 points higher, 0.4%, at 7,599.70 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed up 56.12 points, 0.8%, at 7,568.40.
In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 surged 1.0% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.3%.
The UK data is released at 0700 GMT.
"Right now, the Bloomberg consensus is leaning toward another 0.1% QoQ contraction. However, this is a very close call, with some economists expecting no change. If growth surprises to the upside today, it will be a really good week for the BoE," Commerzbank analyst Michael Pfister commented.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2568 early Thursday, up from USD1.2542 at the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0730, up from USD1.0720. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY150.12, down from JPY150.62.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.2%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200
in Sydney closed 0.8% higher. Financial markets in Shanghai remained closed for the Chinese New Year holiday.
Japan's economy grew 1.9% last year but was still overtaken by Germany as the world's third-biggest economy primarily due to a sharp fall in the yen, official data showed Thursday.
Japan's nominal 2023 gross domestic product in dollar terms was USD4.2 trillion, government data showed, compared to USD4.5 trillion for Germany, according to figures revealed last month.
Japan's economy contracted 0.1% in the three months to December, from a quarter earlier, according to the preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office, missing market expectations of growth of 0.3%, according to FXStreet.
It was the second straight quarterly drop in output after a revised 0.8% contraction in the July-September quarter, the data showed.
It means Japan surprisingly slipped into recession, which is generally defined as two quarters in a row of economic contraction.
Brent oil was quoted at USD81.23 a barrel early Thursday, down from USD82.63 late Wednesday. Gold was quoted at USD1.992.90 an ounce, up from USD1,988.99.
In Thursday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from British Gas owner Centrica and professional information and analytics firm Relx.
After the UK data, the economic calendar for Thursday has the latest US initial jobless claims reading at 1330 GMT.
By Eric Cunha; Alliance News news editor
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