(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, but not by enough to stave off a weekly loss, in what has been a nervy final stretch of the second quarter.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 17.2 points higher, 0.2%, at 8,196.88 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed down 45.65 points, 0.6%, at 8,179.68 on Thursday. It has lost 0.7% so far this week. It has risen 2.9% so far this quarter.

In New York on Thursday, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%.

In China on Friday, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.3% in afternoon dealings, and the Hang Seng was 0.6% higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was 0.4% higher, while the S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1%.

The FTSE 100 looks set to follow stocks in Asia and New York higher, recovering from some pre-US data jitters it suffered on Thursday.

All eyes will be on the latest core personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge, the Fed's preferred measure, on Friday. The data is released at 1330 BST.

The core personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge is expected to have faded to 2.6% in May, from 2.8% in April, according to FXStreet cited consensus.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2631 early Friday, down from USD1.2650 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro stood at USD1.0691, falling from USD1.0710. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY160.94, up from JPY160.67.

Brent oil was quoted at USD85.71 a barrel, down from USD85.13. Gold was quoted at USD2,324.56 an ounce, falling from USD2,327.60.

Aside from the US data on Friday, there is a UK gross domestic product reading at 0700 BST. The numbers are expected to confirm the UK economy expanded 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year.

There are also some flash consumer price index readings from the continent throughout the morning, putting the spotlight on the European Central Bank.

In Friday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from currency and asset manager Record.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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