FTSE 100 preview: Index looking up as global uptrend continues

The FTSE 100 looks set to start the last trading day of the week on the front foot, with stocks around the world continuing their recovery following a volatile week. Tesco (LON:TSCO) will be in focus today as an advisory body recommended that investors vote down the supermarket’s merger with Booker Group (LON:BOK).

Index to open higher

IG’s opening calls suggest that the Footsie will start the session 0.33 percent higher at 7,259 points. The index is likely to take cues from the US, where shares rallied last night.

“The volatility we saw in that correction is here to stay,” said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors, as quoted by CNBC. “We don’t have the dampening mechanisms we had in previous years. […] But frankly, the path of least resistance is still up and fundamentals haven't really changed.” Asian shares have tracked the US higher this morning.

At home, the Footsie rose in the previous session, gaining 20.84 points to close 0.29 percent higher at 7.234.81, amid improving equities sentiment.

Friday’s calendar

Today’s macroeconomic releases include the UK retail sales for January, due out at 09:30 GMT. IG reports that retail sales are expected to have climbed 0.3 percent month-on-month and 2.2 percent year-on-year. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US housing starts and building permits for January are scheduled to be released at 13:30 GMT, to be followed by the preliminary Michigan consumer confidence index for February at 15:00 GMT.

On the corporate front, Segro (LON:SGRO) has posted results this morning. In other news, Reuters reports that shareholder advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that investors in Booker vote against a planned merger with Tesco, citing concerns about the financial merits of the deal.