LIVE MARKETS-Before the bell: futures rise, British Land to join FTSE

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BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES RISE, BRITISH LAND TO JOIN FTSE

Shares in Europe were set for a higher start on Thursday following a positive close on Wall Street and a bounce in Tokyo overnight, ahead of an expected rate cut by the Fed next week and after a bond sale in Japan drew strong demand.

Futures on the EuroSTOXX50 .STOXX50E index and Germany's DAX .GDAXI both rose around 0.6%, while FTSE 100 .FTSE contracts added 0.3%. Derivatives on the S&P 500 .SPX floated just above parity.

Corporate news was thin.

In the U.S., Salesforce CRM.N raised its annual guidance, anticipating growth in its artificial intelligence agent platform. The stock rose 3% in early Frankfurt trading.

Elsewhere in the tech space, European chip names could see some action after reports Chinese chipmaker Cambricon 688256.SS aims to triple output as part of efforts to replace Nvidia in China.

An upbeat J.P.Morgan note on European Capital Goods could support the sector, with Schneider Electric SCHN.PA and Siemens Energy ENR1n.DE both up over 2% in early Frankfurt trading.

As index providers carry out their quarterly reviews, FTSE Russell said British Land BLND.L will join the FTSE 100, having surged almost 17% YTD, while advertising group WPP WPP.L will drop out and move to the FTSE 250, following a 65% slide. Changes take effect after the close on Dec. 20.

(Danilo Masoni)