The FTSE 100 Continues to Climb – What to Watch This Week

The FTSE 100 showed a promising start to the week, climbing to 8,171.65 in early Monday trading on April 29, 2024, rising 0.39%, following Friday’s 0.75% rise, which saw London’s blue-chip index closed up 60.97 points at 8139.83 on Friday.

EARNINGS RELEASES & ECONOMIC EVENTS

It’s an extremely quiet week for UK economic economic data. One release to watch out for, especially if you have an eye on the UK housing market, is mortgage approvals data on Tuesday.  Elsewhere, there is a US Federal Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday, with US NFP data to come on Friday. 

The UK corporate diary is again busy, with Beazley releasing a first-quarter trading statement today. The company reported in-line quarterly growth, with insurance written premiums rising 7% year-on-year.

Avacta Group is expected to report results on Tuesday. Haleon and Next are set to release updates on Wednesday, while Smurfit Kappa, Shell and Standard Chartered will report on Thursday, and IHG and Trainline on Friday. 

FOREX & GOLD

As of 08:16 am, the pound has risen around 0.3% to 1.2525 after closing Friday’s session down 0.2% at 1.2488. The euro has climbed by 0.26%  to 1.0718 after closing Friday down 0.36% at 1.0691. 

Gold is currently at $2,331 after falling 0.28%.