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Summary
- FTSE 100 index is set to open lower following mixed trading in Asian equities on Monday
- The FTSE 100 March futures were down by 0.17 per cent
- London markets are awaiting cues from the ongoing corporate earnings results and the upcoming UK inflation data slated to be released later this week
London’s key index FTSE 100 is set to open lower on Monday, 22 March, tracking mixed trading among its Asian peers dragged by a sharp decline in the Turkish lira. Also, FTSE 100 March futures was trading lower.
The FTSE 100 index closed at 6,708.71, down by 1.05 per cent on Friday due to US Treasury yields falling from a 14-month high, dragging London’s banking stocks lower. While the energy and mining stocks fell due to commodity prices weakening.
Asian markets mixed
Asian equities were mixed on Monday, following the Turkish lira’s sharp fall after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan replaced Turkey's central bank governor.
Japan’s key index Nikkei 225 was down by 1.95 per cent, as Japanese retail investors were spooked about facing potential losses due to holding large long positions on the lira.
China’s SSE Composite Index was up by 0.95 per cent. Hong Kong’s key index Hang Seng was trading in the red, down by 0.23 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi composite index fell by 0.17 per cent.
India’s Nifty 50 was down by 0.41 per cent, though Australia’s ASX 200 ended up by 0.66 per cent earlier today.
The March futures linked to the FTSE 100 were down by 0.17 per cent as of 22 March at 0456 AM GMT, indicating a subdued start to the London markets.
US Markets
US markets are awaiting another set of macro data for upcoming cues as the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is set to unveil the February personal consumption expenditures figures later this week. Moreover, The US’ gross domestic product data is also set to be released on 25 March this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index last closed down by 0.71 per cent on Friday, while the S&P 500 index ended lower by 0.06 per cent. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite index closed up by 0.76 per cent.
GBP falls against USD
The Great Britain pound (GBP) was trading lower against the United States dollar (USD) on Monday. At around 0509 AM GMT, the GBP/USD currency pair was down by 0.106 per cent, trading at 1.3854. The pair’s last close stood at 1.3925.
The GBP/USD pair was trading between a low of 1.3815 and a high of 1.3911, respectively, at the interbank foreign exchange market, during the session so far.
Meanwhile, the GBP/EUR currency pair was trading up by 0.0103 per cent at 1.1648 at around 0514 AM GMT.
The Bank of England had fixed a reference spot exchange rate of 1.3939 USD and 1.1689 EUR against a unit of pound sterling on 18 March.
Upcoming cues
The London markets is expecting final results from several companies such as Blackbird, Centamin plc, and Kingfisher to be announced later today. The markets are also awaiting cues from the upcoming Office for National Statistics’ unemployment rate release to be announced on 23 March and for UK’s inflation data set to be unveiled later this week.
On the international front, markets are awaiting the US’ GDP data set to be announced later this week.
