LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Stock market futures are pointing higher on the back of fresh bullish news around the US artificial intelligence space, even as investors keep a close eye on Capitol Hill and the ongoing budget standoff in Washington D.C..
According to some market commentary, the US federal government shutdown might extend until mid-October.

As of 0835 BST, FTSE 100 futures were ahead by 15.0 points to 9,494.0.

"Markets woke today with two dominant rhythms-one driven by the AI boom's drumbeat, the other by the muffled silence of Washington's shutdown muffling the Fed's compass," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

"Traders are caught between a disco ball and a blackout, forced to dance even as the lights flicker."

Overnight, it was reported that Elon Musk's OpenAI had fetched a $500bn valuation as part of its latest funding deal.

That would further cement its position as the most valuable privately-held company in the world.

In parallel, according to Bloomberg, Global Infrastructure Partners was in advanced negotiations to buy Aligned Data Centers for roughly $40bn, underscoring the massive amount of funds that was being channelled into the sector.

On the economic calendar for Friday, at 0930 BST consultancy S&P Global was scheduled to publish its services sector Purchasing Managers' Index for the UK covering the month of September.

It will be preceded, half an hour before, by a comparable survey for the single-currency bloc.

A rival survey for the sector out of the Institute for Supply Management will follow at 1500 BST in the US.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is due to deliver a speech a 1420 BST.

JD Wetherspoon anticipates "reasonable" FY outcome

JD Wetherspoon posted a full-yar rise in like-for-like sales of 5.1% with profit before tax ahead by 10.1% to £81.4m. Free cash inflow per share surged by 79.2% to 47.3p. However, the company reiterated that higher national insurance and labour rates would lead to cost increases of around £60m and energy costs a further £7m per year. The pub-owner opted to keep its dividend pay-out steady at 12.0p.

Content solutions firm RWS Holdings announced on Friday that chief financial officer Candida Davies will step down from the role at the end of 2025. Davies will remain with the company to support a smooth transition and the reporting of full-year results. The board has initiated a search for her successor.

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