(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open a touch higher on Friday, supported by more decent trade for New York tech shares.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 11.6 points higher, 0.1%, at 8,252.57 on Friday. The index of London large-caps rose 47.03 points, or 0.6%, at 8,240.97 on Thursday. It has risen 0.7% so far this week.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.6% higher on Thursday. The S&P 500 ended 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.0%.

Most Asian markets traded higher. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.4% in Tokyo. In China, the Shanghai Composite was flat, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shot up 1.1%. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3%.

"Stocks rallied Thursday as investors continued to shake off a rocky start to September, diving back into tech stocks with a vengeance. Leading the charge, Nvidia—the world’s largest wealth-creation machine—powered up this week, moving markets like the Fed had already delivered a rate cut. And let's not forget: that rate cut is still on the table for next week. Add in the ECB's rate reduction, and we’re looking at a feedback loop of market bliss," SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3146 early Friday in London, rising from USD1.3079 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The euro stood at USD1.1085, up from USD1.1036. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY140.96, down markedly from JPY142.33.

The price of gold rose to USD2,568.91 an ounce from USD2,552.77. Brent oil was quoted at USD72.43 a barrel, up slightly from USD72.35.

Friday's economic calendar has a eurozone industrial production reading at 1000 BST.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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