UK and European stock markets opened higher on Friday after the Chinese yuan rose after three days of devaluation and the Greek parliament approved the county’s bailout. Stocks rolled over by mid-morning with futures pointing to a lower open on Wall Street as crude oil continued to slide to fresh six year lows.
Relative calm in China after a week of central bank-induced panic saw gains in mining stocks help the FTSE 100 narrowly edge into positive territory. Progress in the FTSE has been limited by a drop in BP (LONDON:BP) shares after a US judge found the oil major guilty of historical manipulation of the natural gas market.
The US Crude Oil price fell to new 6 ½ year lows early on Friday ahead of Baker Hughes rig count data released later that could see another increase. More US rigs would raise concerns that US oil output will remain elevated, adding to the global supply glut and could help push US crude prices in the direction of $40 per barrel.
Greek MPs approved the bailout plan with the help of opposition MPs but major cracks within the leading Syriza party are casting major doubts over Greece’s political future.
After disappointing European second quarter growth data, three separate pieces of US economic data will either confirm or deny the apparent progress for the US economy seen in the third quarter according to yesterday’s retail sales growth. University of Michigan consumer confidence, producer price inflation and industrial production are all on the deck.
Clothing retailer Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) shares could jump as much as 5% on the US market open after reporting rising same-store sales and beating top and bottom line earnings estimates. Shares of chip-maker Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) are expected to open lower after reporting earnings in line with estimates but missing revenue expectations.
Futures suggest the:
S&P 500 will open 4 points lower at 2,079 with the
Dow Jones expected to open 27 points lower at 17,381 and the
Nasdaq 100 8 points lower at 4,511.
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