FTSE 100 preview: Footsie to extend fall amid trade worries

The FTSE 100 looks set to open lower this morning, extending the previous session’s losses, pressured by the ongoing trade worries which have sapped investor sentiment around the world. In corporate updates, Anglo-Swedish pharma group AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) has posted drug trial data.

FTSE 100 seen lower

IG’s opening calls suggest that the Footsie will start the first trading day of June 0.43 percent lower at 7,131 points. In the US, shares fell on Friday, as President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on Mexico, with the move coming on top of Washington’s trade tensions with Beijing and stoking recession fears.

“President Trump’s latest trade bombshell […] might turn out to be a short-lived threat that is quickly defused by commitments on border security, but it nonetheless looks damaging at a number of levels,” Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note, as quoted by CNBC. Asian shares have also fallen into the red this morning.

“Speculators are now building up trading positions to bet on a recession,” Masanari Takada, cross asset strategist at Nomura Securities told Reuters. “If the upcoming US data such as today’s ISM manufacturing survey deteriorates, bearish bets on U.S. stocks should gain momentum.”

At home, the Footsie shed 56.45 points to close 0.78 percent lower at 7,161.71, as investors focused on trade worries.

Monday’s releases

Today’s macroeconomic releases include the UK’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for May, due out at 09:30 BST. IG reports that the index is expected to have fallen to 52.1, from 53.1. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US ISM manufacturing PMI for the same month is scheduled to be released at 15:00 BST.

On the corporate front, AstraZeneca has posted results from a study evaluating its oncology drug Lynparza.