(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Tuesday, amid news that UK retails sales were hit by cooler weather in June.
Investors also await comments from Federal Reserve officials, including Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress which may bring hints on the timing of rate cuts.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 17.01 points, 0.2%, 8,210.50 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 10.44 points, 0.1%, at 8,193.49 on Monday.
UK retail sales declined in June as the cooler weather held back purchases of clothing and footwear.
According to the BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, UK total retail sales decreased by 0.2% in June from a year prior, against growth of 4.9% in June 2023. This was above the 3-month average decline of 1.1% and below the 12-month average growth of 1.5%.
In May, retail sales rose 0.7% after falling 4.0% in April.
British Retail Consortium Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said: "Retail sales performed poorly in June as the cooler weather during the first half of the month dulled consumer spending."
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2808 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.2829 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro traded at USD1.0829 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.0833 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY160.95, up versus JPY160.71.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 2.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.9%.
Gold was quoted at USD2,365.90 an ounce early Tuesday, lower than USD2,370.69 on Monday.
Brent oil was trading at USD85.57 a barrel early Tuesday, lower than USD86.16 late Monday.
In Tuesday's corporate calendar, there is a trading statement from Vistry. There are also full year results due out for Celebrus Technologies, Kinovo, and TPXImpact.
Powell's congressional testimony begins at 1500 BST, headlining an otherwise quiet day on the economic calendar on Tuesday. There is an Irish industrial production reading at 1100 BST.
By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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