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FTSE preview: Shares up; Rates decision

By Reuters
Updated: 02:56 EDT, 9 December 2010

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The FTSE 100 is seen rising with energy stocks likely to find support as oil strengthens, and Standard Chartered under the spotlight after the bank issued a trading update.

A dealer monitors her screens on the trading floor of IG Index in London

Watching brief: Commodity stocks may rise.

The UK blue chip index looks set to climb 31 to 35 points, or as much as 0.6%, according to financial bookmakers, after it closed down 13.92 points, or 0.2%, at 5,794.53 on Wednesday, hurt by falls from heavyweight miners.

'The market found buying activity well above the key technical support levels... and appears poised to retest the previous swing high... near 5,840,' Jonah Ford, an analyst at Autochartist, said in a note.

Oil rebounded on Thursday as the dollar eased and some optimism returned to stock markets in Asia on hopes the extension of US tax cuts would boost consumption.

On the domestic economics front, the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee decision is due. The BoE is likely to hold interest rates at 0.5%, and keep the £200bn of asset purchases that has been in place since February this year.

Ahead of this, investors will look at October trade balance figures.

Across the Atlantic, weekly US jobless claims data is scheduled for release with US October wholesale inventories also due.

Standard Chartered said on Thursday that it expects to post record income and profit for this year, helped by falling loan impairments and growth in consumer banking.

De La Rue first received an £820m takeover approach from Oberthur, a French banknote printing rival, as long as eight weeks ago, it emerged on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported.

There will be updates today from Ashstead Group, IG Holdings, Premier Farnell, PZ Cussons, Rank Group and DS Smith.

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