The FTSE 100 is expected to add 6 points (0.1 percent) in early trade today after rising 34 points (0.55 percent) on Thursday to close at 6,041.
Retailer Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) led the blue chips, surging 6 percent yesterday. Peer Next (LON:NXT) advanced 3.2 percent. Banks Lloyds (LON:LLOY) and Barclays (LON:BARC) tacked on 4 percent and 2.8 percent respectively.
Cairn Energy (LON:CNE) was at the bottom of the pile with a 2.8 percent loss. Engineering company Invensys (LON:ISYS) and Financial Times publisher Pearson (LON:PSON) lost 2.6 percent. British Gas parent company Centrica (LON:CNA) dipped 1.8%.
US stocks were on the rise yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 33 points (0.3 percent), reaching 12,426. The S&P 500 index rose 3 points (0.2 percent) to 1,335 and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite climbed 8.5 points (0.3 percent) to 2,799.
Cisco (NYSE:CSCO) led the DJIA components, climbing 4.9 percent. JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) followed with gains of just over 2 percent.
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) moved in the opposite direction, shedding 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent respectively.
In Asia, Japan’s Benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 17 points (0.2 percent), reaching 9,600. China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined marginally to 3,000.
Commodities
US light, sweet crude for May delivery declined to US$108.42/barrel.
Gold prices retreated to US$1,454/oz. Silver and platinum slipped to US$39.37/oz and US$1,779/oz.
Copper dropped to US$4.33/lb, while nickel advanced to US$12.05/lb. Zinc last traded at US$1.087/lb.
Today’s macroeconomic data will include US jobless claims and the Bank of England’s decision on interest rates.