(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were set to open slightly higher on Tuesday, after a lower finish on Monday, as data showed a slowdown in retail sales growth in the UK last month.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index to open up 7.9 points, 0.1%, at 7,844.61 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps ended down 65.09 points, or 0.8%, at 7,836.71 on Monday.
The dollar was slightly lower early Tuesday. Sterling was quoted at USD1.2054, higher than USD1.2026 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro traded at USD1.0739, little changed from USD1.0737. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY132.15, down versus JPY132.80.
UK retail sales growth slowed last month, new figures showed, with consumers reining in spending amid rampant inflation.
According to the latest British Retail Consortium-KPMG tracker, UK retail sales rose by 4.2% on-year in January. Growth slowed markedly from 12% a year earlier. It was also down on the three-month average of 5.2%. On a like-for-like basis, sales rose 3.9% yearly in January, slower than the 4.9% three-month average.
"With inflation running at around 10%, sales growth for January nearly halved in comparison to December to just over 4% - sending a clear signal that consumers have started the year with a tight rein on spending as they face another period of rising costs," KPMG analyst Paul Martin commented.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.0%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index closed marginally lower in Tokyo. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.5%.
Australia's central bank hiked interest rates to a 10-year high as it tries to tame inflation without triggering a recession.
The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted borrowing costs by 25 basis points to 3.35%, marking the ninth successive increase and the highest rate since October 2012. The move was widely expected.
After the announcement, the bank's board said global inflation remained "very high" – the consumer price index hit a three-decade high of 7.8% in October-December – and warned further hikes were likely in coming months
The S&P/ASX 200 stock index in Sydney closed down 0.5%.
Gold was quoted at USD1,874.83 an ounce early Tuesday, higher than USD1,868.01 on Monday. Brent oil was trading at USD82.02 a barrel, up from USD79.90.
Tuesday's economic calendar has the latest Halifax UK house price index is released at 0700 GMT. US President Joe Biden will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening in Washington.
The local corporate calendar has annual results from oil major BP and a trading statement from electricity utility SSE.
By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
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