FTSE 100 preview: Footsie seen lower amid trade worries

The FTSE 100 looks set to start the last day of May in negative territory, pressured by heightened trade worries following President Donald Trump’s latest comments. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) will be in focus amid plans to cut jobs.

FTSE 100 seen lower

IG’s opening calls suggest that the Footsie will start trading 0.39 percent lower at 7,190 points. In the US, shares rose slightly last night, despite lingering economy worries. Asian shares, however, have retreated this morning after US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on Mexico from June 10.

“The mercurial President Trump has signalled via Twitter this morning that his mindset is shifting ever farther from reaching trade deals,” warned Eleanor Creagh, a strategist at Saxo Capital Markets, told Reuters. “As escalating trade tensions across the globe cause growth expectations to be recalibrated, risk off sentiment will remain and volatility will increase.”

In the UK, the FTSE 100 rose in the previous session, adding 32.86 points to end trading 0.46 percent higher at 7,218.16. The blue-chip index found support in a weaker pound, with sterling retreating on the back of political concerns over Theresa May’s successor. Reuters reported that Britain’s finance minister Philip Hammond had warned his fellow party members vying for May’s job that a no-deal Brexit would endanger the economy.

Friday’s releases

Today’s macroeconomic statements include Germany’s preliminary consumer price index for May at 13:30 BST, to be followed by US personal income and spending data for April at 13:30 BST. On the other side of the Atlantic, Canada’s first-quarter gross domestic product will be unveiled at 13:30 BST followed by the final US Michigan consumer sentiment index for May at 15:00 BST. In Footsie company news, the Financial Times reports that HSBC is to axe hundreds of investment banking jobs as part of cost-cutting plans.