15th Aug 2025 06:54
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday, ahead of a much-anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump insisted that Putin was "not going to mess around with me" because "I am president". He also said that Ukraine would be involved in any deal on its fate.
However, Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented: "Trump warned of 'severe consequences' — including sanctions — if Ukraine peace talks stall, raising the risk of tensions with Russia.
"The upcoming meeting looks more likely to sour than succeed, with oil flows potentially caught in the crossfire. US crude recently breached the USD65 support and is consolidating in a medium-term bearish zone, where ample supply and cloudy demand argue for further downside — though a softer dollar is cushioning the slide."
Brent oil was trading at USD66.68 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD66.80 late Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3545 early Friday, slightly higher than USD1.3541 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.1665 early Friday, higher than USD1.1650 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JPY147.13 versus JPY147.72.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 48.5 points higher, 0.5%, on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.1% at 9,177.24 on Thursday.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 11.01 points, the S&P 500 up 1.96 points and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.47 points.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.9%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.6%.
Gold was quoted at USD3,345.23 an ounce early Friday, higher than USD3,339.74 on Thursday.
In Friday's corporate calendar, Invesco Bond Income Plus releases half-year results.
In the economic calendar on Friday, there are several US releases including industrial production, retail sales and export/import prices.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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