5th Mar 2026 06:59
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly lower on Thursday, ahead of the UK construction purchasing managers' index release and US unemployment data.
Meanwhile, the US-Israeli war on Iran has entered its sixth day as flights carrying Britons left stranded in the Middle East amid the conflict are due to arrive in the UK later on Thursday.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has continued to defend the status of the special relationship with the US after a series of attacks from President Donald Trump, and Cyprus said that a British presence is "the least we expect" as a warship being readied to protect the British base there is not set to sail until next week.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 6.9 points, 0.1%, on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.8% higher at 10,567.65 on Wednesday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3322 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3365 at the London equities close on Wednesday.
The euro traded at USD1.1599 early Thursday, lower than USD1.1634 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted slightly higher at JPY157.07 versus JPY157.01.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.3%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.4%.
Gold was quoted at USD5,157.81 an ounce early Thursday, higher than USD5,142.25 on Wednesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD83.94 a barrel early Thursday, higher than USD80.75 late Wednesday.
In Thursday's corporate calendar, many UK firms are releasing their full-year results including Rentokil, Endeavour Mining, Aviva, Admiral and Serco.
In the economic calendar on Thursday, there is also eurozone retail sales, construction PMIs from the eurozone, Germany and others, and US trade figures.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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