26th Jun 2026 06:55
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Friday, amid a mixed picture in the Middle East as talks between Lebanon and Israel were extended, but Iran reportedly attacked a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The New York Times and other US media reported that Iran struck a container ship in the strait, and the Persian Gulf Strait Authority issued a warning that "passage through routes outside the framework designated by PGSA will not be covered by safe passage guarantees".
Meanwhile, US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon that were slated to end Thursday will go on for another day, the State Department said.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 63.8 points, 0.8%, on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 68.26 points, 0.7%, at 10,529.89 on Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3205 early Friday, lower than USD1.3213 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1600 from EUR1.1604 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1378 early Friday, lower than USD1.1387 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JPY161.56 versus JPY161.63.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.73 points and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.5%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 4.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.2%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,008.64 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD4,036.10 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD74.30 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD75.55 late Thursday.
In Friday's corporate calendar, Cranswick, Thruvision and Solid State report full-year results.
In the economic calendar on Friday, the US has goods trade balance and wholesale inventories data.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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