London pre-open: Stocks set to dip at start of trading

(Sharecast News) - UK stock market futures were pointing to slight losses at the start of the last full trading session of 2024. As of 0841 BST, futures tracking the FTSE 100 were slipping by 32.50 points to 8,122.50.

Weighing on investor sentiment was the retreat seen during the preceding session on Wall Street, during which the S&P 500 had yielded 1.11% to 5,970.84, alongside a 1.49% drop for the Nasdaq Composite to 19,722.03.

Dragging on US stocks had been the continued rise in longer-term US Treasury note yields.

On the economic calendar for Monday, at 1445 BST MNI would release its US Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index for December.

It would be followed a quarter of an hour later by the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index and at 1530 BST by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas's regional factory sector index.

In Europe, Spanish CPI data for December were due out at 0800 BST.

No major economic releases were scheduled in the UK.

Thruvision promotes finance director to CEO role

Thruvision Group announced the appointment of Victoria Balchin, currently its chief financial officer, as its new chief executive officer on Monday, effective 2 January, following Colin Evans' departure in October. The AIM-traded company's board said that, after considering external candidates, it unanimously decided an internal appointment would best support the company's growth strategy, with Balchin playing a key role in maintaining operational effectiveness during the leadership transition. Balchin would continue as CFO with support from company secretary Hannah Platt, while executive chairman Tom Black remained actively involved, particularly in overseeing a sales function review.

Helix Exploration announced an agreement to acquire a helium pressure swing adsorption (PSA) processing plant for $0.5m on Monday, with a $0.1m downpayment, as part of its strategy to establish itself as a leading helium producer in Montana. The plant, previously capable of producing 48,000 Mcf of high-grade helium annually, would be refurbished and installed at Helix's Rudyard Project in partnership with Wikota Design & Construction. It said the acquisition would reduce capital costs, shorten production timelines, and support the firm's goal of starting production in 2025.