(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Tuesday, amid the latest services PMIs from major economies.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 19.0 points, 0.3%, at 7,433.76 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 11.78 points, 0.2%, at 7,452.76 on Monday.
UK retail sales bounced back last month following a poor performance in July, according to the latest British Retail Consortium and KPMG sales monitor.
Total UK retail sales increased 4.1% on an annual basis in August, picking up sharply from the 1.8% rise recorded in July.
July's rise was the weakest year-on-year growth in retail sales since August 2022, according to the BRC. Meanwhile, August's rise was above the three-month average growth rate of 3.6% and in line with the 12-month average growth rate of 4.1%.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, cautioned that sales growth may cool in the coming months, even if volume growth does not, as price rises slow amid easing inflation.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2622 early Tuesday, edging higher than USD1.2620 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro traded at USD1.0789, a touch lower than USD1.0791. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY146.75 versus JPY146.46.
In Asia on Tuesday, investors were digesting the latest services purchasing managers indices. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.1%. Japan's service sector growth accelerated to a three-month high, with the au Jibun Bank services PMI rising to 54.3 points in August from 53.8 in July.
In China, the Caixin PMI revealed a slowdown in service sector growth, falling to 51.8 in August from 54.1 in July. The survey said this was partly due to weaker foreign demand for Chinese services, with new export business seeing the first fall since December.
Meanwhile, struggling Chinese developer Country Garden has made multi-million-dollar interest payments on two outstanding loans, reports said Tuesday, narrowly avoiding what would have been its first default.
The firm in August said it was unable to make the payments, worth USD22.5 million, and was given a 30-day grace period. That grace period was due to end either Tuesday or Wednesday, but the company paid the interest, Bloomberg News reported citing sources.
The Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.3%.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.3%, after the country's central bank kept interest rates unchanged, as was widely expected.
US markets were closed for Labour Day on Monday.
Gold was quoted at USD1,937.12 an ounce early Tuesday, down from USD1,938.92 late Monday. Brent oil was trading at USD88.90 a barrel, lower than USD89.01.
In Tuesday's UK corporate calendar sees first-quarter results from Ashtead, full-year results from Alumasc and a trading statement from DS Smith.
The morning's economic calendar has services PMIs from the UK, Germany, and the EU.
By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
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