(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open a touch higher on Thursday, ahead of a batch of US data readings in the afternoon, while equities in New York ended mixed overnight, with tech shares falling.

The economic calendar for Thursday has a slew of data from the US. At 1230 GMT, there is the weekly initial jobless claims reading, as well as producer price and retail sales data.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 9.2 points higher, 0.1%, at 7,781.37 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed up 24.36 points, 0.3%, at 7,772.17 on Wednesday.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.1% on Wednesday. The S&P 500 lost 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5%.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2794 early Thursday, down slightly from USD1.2798 at the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0941, down from USD1.0945. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY147.89, up from JPY147.70.

"On Wednesday, US stocks experienced a slight downturn as investors opted to cash in profits from shares of Nvidia and other chipmakers. Meanwhile, market participants are preparing for the release of Thursday's producer price data, which could provide additional insights into inflation trends and influence forward guidance at the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting. Last month's PPI release significantly reinforced the narrative of rising inflation and caused the market to wobble," SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented.

"Meanwhile, the PPI data typically doesn't spark significant market movements. Still, given traders' ongoing concerns about pipeline inflation, another hotter-than-expected print could lead to minor turbulence."

Numbers are expected to show the pace of year-on-year US producer price growth picked up to 1.1% on in February, according to FXStreet cited consensus, from 0.9% in January.

In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 closed up 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.2% in late dealings, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 0.9% lower.

Gold was quoted at USD2,169.63 an ounce early Thursday, down from USD2,173.55 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. Brent oil was quoted at USD84.10 a barrel, climbing from USD83.50.

"The positive pressure is building after the EIA data confirmed a 1.5 million barrel fall in US oil inventories last week, and after Ukraine attacked major Russian oil refineries with drones and damaged around 12% of the country's oil-processing capacity," Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented.

The analyst noted tensions between the US and China are "on the rise again", with social media platform TikTok at the heart of it.

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent company or be banned in the US.

Ozkardeskaya commented: "The affair is highly political of course, and it is one more major point that opposes the two presidential candidates, [US President Joe] Biden and [Donald] Trump. Biden says he will sign the bill, while Trump says banning TikTok would give too much power to Facebook, that he openly dislikes – as the platform imposed a ban on the ex-President after the Capitol riot back in 2021."

In Thursday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from food delivery firm Deliveroo, There is also a trading statement from safety equipment company Halma.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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