(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Tuesday, following a mixed performance in Asia after weak Chinese retail trade data.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 0.1%, or 10.89 points, at 7,543.6 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 9.88 points, or 0.1% at 7,554.49 on Monday.

In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.2%.

China last month suffered its biggest drop in exports for more than two years, according to official figures Tuesday, as the world's second-largest economy struggles with sluggish global demand and a domestic slowdown.

The data will likely ramp up calls for leaders to do more to revive growth, having laid out a series of stimulus measures in recent weeks.

Sales of Chinese products to foreign markets plunged 14.5% on-year last month, a third consecutive drop, according to the customs authority.

The decline was bigger than expected and the heaviest since a 17.2% drop in January-February 2020, when the economy came to a standstill in the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile,in the UK, the retail sector had a trickier month in July, with wet weather doing "no favours" for clothing sales.

According to the latest British Retail Consortium and KPMG sales monitor, sales rose 1.5% on-year last month, below the three-month average growth of 3.5%. Sales growth eased from 2.3% a year earlier.

July's rise was the weakest year-on-year growth in retail sales since August 2022, according to the BRC. Retail sales had risen 4.9% on-year in June.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2759 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.2776 at the London equities close on Monday.

The euro traded at USD1.0993 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.1004 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY143.33, up versus JPY142.25.

In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.

Gold was quoted at USD1,933.12 an ounce early Tuesday, lower than USD1,934.11 on Monday. Brent oil was trading at USD85.34 a barrel early Tuesday, lower than USD85.44 late Monday.

In Tuesday's UK corporate calendar, there are half-year results from abrdn, Glencore, InterContinental Hotels and Quilter.

The economic calendar has German inflation data at 0700 BST.

By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter

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