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Axel Rudolph, Senior Technical Analyst at online trading platform IG said:

Read our full trending tickers update here for stocks to watch in premarket

A new Bank of England study on public attitudes to inflation carried out by Ipsos has shown that expectations of inflation have slightly improved since the last survey in May.

Results showed that, when asked to give the current rate of inflation, respondents gave a median answer of 5.2%, down from 5.5% in May.

Looking ahead, median expectations of the rate of inflation over the coming year were 2.7%, down from 2.8% in May 2024.

Asked about expectations of inflation in the longer term, say in five years’ time, respondents gave a median answer of 3.2%, up from 3.1% in May.

Boeing stock fell around 3.8% in premarket trade after its workers voted to go ahead with a walkout, following a rejected pay deal between union representatives and the company. The proposed deal would have included a 25% pay increase over four years.

More than 30,000 workers walked out on Friday at midnight. The pay deal unions were targeting was a 40% increase, among other measures.

“The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members," Boeing said in a statement.

"We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement."

Around 95% of the union members who voted in the ballot rejected the deal. 96% backed strike action until a new agreement is reached.

Vodafone and Three have pushed back against claims by the UK's competition regulator that their proposed merger will lead to jacked up prices for mobile phone customers.

In the latest chapter of an inquiry first launched in January, the Competition and Markets Authority said earlier this week the deal could weaken competition between providers and harm customers least able to afford mobile phones.

Vodafone stock is following the mood of the market, however, and is up around 0.8% this morning.

The pair struck the agreement to merge in June 2023, with the potential combination set to become the UK's largest phone network. It would serve around 27m customers.

Asian markets were mixed on Friday as traders digested fresh data from the US labor market which hit close to expectations.

Japan's Nikkei (^N225) pulled back 0.7% after a 3.4% increase on Thursday. Tech gains have propped up the index as investors return to back semiconductor producers.

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng (^HSI) was up 0.8% as traders look ahead to Chinese economic data released on Saturday. Markets are predicting three key metrics — industrial production, fixed asset investment, and retail sales — will be in slowdown.

US stocks jumped on Thursday as investors weighed fresh inflation and labor data against high-running expectations for a quarter-point interest-rate cut next week.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.7% to close out its fourth consecutive winning session. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped around 1%, also in its fourth straight positive day, as it added to gains this week fueled by tech. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged up almost 0.6%.

Stocks started out the session with little change but firmly moved into green territory with revived enthusiasm for techs. The last major pieces of data this week reinforced bets on a smaller, 25 point rate reduction from the Federal Reserve next week instead of a larger, 0.5% cut.

Early Thursday, the August producer price index provided another indication that inflation pressures are cooling. Wholesale prices rose at a rate of 0.2% month over month, slightly above what economists anticipated. On an annualized basis, PPI increased 1.7%, in line with expectations, while July's reading was revised lower. That followed August's consumer price reading that showed gradual cooling, as well.

Hello from London. It's a distinctly autumnal day here, with the days cooling down (although global stock indexes didn't get the memo with some gains overnight).

Later this morning traders will be looking to fresh inflation figures from the Bank of England. There are also EU industrial production data on the slate.

Let's get to it.