(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open higher on Friday, as investors eye producer price data from the US, due out this afternoon.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the year-on-year consumer price inflation rate increased 3.0% in June, cooling from a 3.3% rise in May. According to FXStreet, markets were expecting a 3.1% increase for June.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices declined 0.1% in June, after being unchanged in May from April. Prices had been expected to register a 0.1% increase this time around, so the latest reading undershot the consensus.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:

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MARKETS

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FTSE 100: called up 0.6% at 8,272.50

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Hang Seng: up 2.5% at 18,279.85

Nikkei 225: closed down 2.5% at 41,190.68

S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.9% at 7,959.30

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DJIA: closed up 32.39 points, 0.1%, at 39,753.75

S&P 500: closed down 0.9% at 5,584.54

Nasdaq Composite: closed down 2.0% at 18,283.41

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EUR: higher at USD1.0878 (USD1.0872)

GBP: lower at USD1.2911 (USD1.2920)

USD: higher at JPY159.02 (JPY158.57)

GOLD: lower at USD2,406.90 per ounce (USD2,422.61)

OIL (Brent): higher at USD85.60 a barrel (USD85.47)

(changes since previous London equities close)

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ECONOMICS

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Friday's key economic events still to come:

08:45 CEST France CPI

08:00 CEST Germany wholesale prices

14:45 CEST Germany current account

09:00 CEST Spain CPI

08:30 EDT US PPI

10:00 EDT US Michigan consumer sentiment index

09:30 EDT US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks

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German wholesale prices declined in June from the month before, having risen in May, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Friday. Wholesale prices declined by 0.3% in June from May, after edging up by 0.1% in May on-month. According to FXStreet, markets were expecting wholesale prices to edge up by 0.2%. Annually, wholesale prices in June fell by 0.6%, having fallen by 0.7% in May. Lower prices in the wholesale of chemical products, which were down 11%, were the main reason for the year-on-year decrease in wholesale prices in June, the FSO explained.

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BROKER RATING CHANGES

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Goldman cuts Diageo to 'sell' (neutral) - price target 2,450 (3,150) pence

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JPMorgan places Future on 'positive catalyst watch'

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COMPANIES - FTSE 100

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Shell noted that that first gas has been achieved at the Jerun gas field in Malaysia, as announced by its operator SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn. Shell has a 30% equity stake in the field, through its Malaysian subsidiary, Sarawak Shell Berhad, and made a final investment decision on the development in 2021. The field is located around 160 kilometres north-west of Bintulu in Sarawak, and 190 km north-west of Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. "Jerun was a highly attractive investment for Shell, building on our interests in this important region off the coast of Sarawak, offshore Malaysia, where Shell operates the Timi platform and has the Rosmari-Marjoram project under construction," said Zoe Yujnovich, Shell's Integrated Gas & Upstream director. "Gas is an important fuel for Malaysia and the world, providing a secure form of energy for heating, cooling and power generation. We are delighted the venture has reached this milestone."

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COMPANIES - FTSE 250

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Ashmore Group said assets under management in the quarter ended June 30 fell by 5% to USD49.5 billion from USD51.9 billion in the quarter ended March 31. "Emerging Markets returns have been positive over the past year and Ashmore has delivered outperformance across a broad range of strategies, but in contrast to this point in previous cycles, investor risk appetite remains subdued and institutional decisions to reduce emerging markets exposure continue to drive net outflows. This trend was notable in the blended debt theme this quarter, which, combined with small net outflows from corporate debt and equities, exceeded the net inflows into the local currency and external debt themes," it explained. The company added that overall market performance over the three months was broadly in line with the preceding quarter, with external debt, corporate debt and equity indices delivering positive returns, while local currency bond returns were held back by a stronger US dollar.

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Sirius Real Estate, a London and Johannesburg-listed property investor, said 2.7 million shares priced at 94 pence each have been offered under its retail offer. Through the retail offer, Sirius has raised GBP2.5 million. On Thursday, Sirius said it successfully raised GBP150 million through a share placing to acquire more properties. It will issue 159.6 million new shares, representing about 12% of its total prior to the new issue, at 94p to raise GBP150 million. The property investor first announced the capital raise on Wednesday.

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OTHER COMPANIES

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Molten Ventures updated markets on recent developments in its portfolio. It said that Graphcore has been acquired by SoftBank. Molten has realised a total return of USD26 million, in line with its company holding value. Molten first invested in Graphcore in 2016 as part of the company’s Series A and further supported the business in subsequent funding rounds. Further, its acquisition of Perkbox by Great Hill Partners is now closed, having been announced in March. Chief Executive Martin Davis said: "These realisations and the fact that core portfolio companies ISAR Aerospace and Ravenpack are attracting investment, even in an environment which is still challenging for fundraising, all demonstrate the high quality of our portfolio. More importantly, the valuation of recent exits underscores the rigour of our valuation methodology and should give further confidence to investors in our net asset value."

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Vivendi SA is considering London as the listing venue for its Canal+ streaming service, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing "people familiar with internal discussions". Vivendi also may choose Amsterdam for Canal+, one of the people told the newspaper. A listing in London or Amsterdam would give Canal+ more access to international capital than on Euronext in Paris, where Vivendi shares are traded, the people told the FT, saying no final decision has been made. The Paris-based media group back in December had announced a study of the feasibility of splitting the company into four listed entities, including Canal+ and advertising firm Havas. Vivendi has said it plans a secondary inward listing for Canal+ in South Africa, as part of its takeover of MultiChoice Group Ltd, a Johannesburg-based entertainment company that owns satellite service DStv and Showmax video-on-demand platform. However, the primary listing of the company will be elsewhere.

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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter

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