LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: FTSE 100 to fall as US earnings underwhelm

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open lower on Wednesday, as earnings from US tech firms overnight failed to add impetus.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 21.3 points lower, 0.3%, at 8,146.07 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 31.41 points, 0.4%, at 8,167.37 on Tuesday.

In New York on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.1%.

In China on Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.1% in afternoon trade. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 0.5% lower. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was 1.2% lower in late trade. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.1%.

"In China, equities remain under pressure as participants seek greater support from Chinese officials," ActivTrades analyst Anderson Alves commented.

After hours in New York, Google owner Alphabet fell 2.2%, while electric carmaker Tesla slid 7.8%.

Tesla missed Wall Street profit estimates in the second quarter as it repeated guidance that vehicle growth in 2024 would be "notably lower" than 2023. Alphabet highlighted "ongoing strength" in its Search segment, as well as "momentum" in Cloud, after seeing both revenue and net income climb in the second quarter.

AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth noted: "Investors were quick to find fault and the spotlight immediately shone on a slowdown in Google's advertising growth at 11.1% in the second quarter versus a 13% gain in the previous three-month period, year-on-year.

"YouTube's advertising revenue was also slightly below forecasts. That triggered volatility in the share price in after-hours trading, despite a strong showing from the cloud arm and overall earnings beating expectations."

The pound was quoted at USD1.2891 early Wednesday in London, down from USD1.2915 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.0850, falling from USD1.0855. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY154.74, fading from JPY155.98.

Brent oil was quoted at USD81.19 a barrel early Wednesday, rising from USD80.95. Gold was quoted at USD2,415.02 an ounce, a rise from USD2,406.10.

In Wednesday's UK corporate calendar, there is a trading statement due out from budget carrier easyJet, which will be in focus after a poorly-received update from peer Ryanair earlier this week.

There are also half-year results from carmaker Aston Martin, gold miner Fresnillo, and consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser.

The economic calendar for Wednesday has a slew of flash composite PMI data including from the UK at 0930 BST, and the US at 1445 BST.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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