13th Jul 2026 06:52
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Monday as renewed tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher and weighed on investor sentiment.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 24.8 lower, 0.2%, at 10,472.49 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.2% higher at 10,497.29 on Friday.
US President Donald Trump claimed the Strait of Hormuz was "open", contradicting statements from Iran, which has said it has once again closed the strategic waterway following renewed hostilities with the US.
Meanwhile, the US military said it had completed a fresh round of strikes in Iran aimed at preventing the Islamic republic from attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Centcom forces struck Iranian military air-defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time," the US military said in a post on X.
Brent oil was quoted at USD79.39 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD75.86 late Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3380 early Monday, lower than USD1.3419 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1730 from EUR1.1737 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1403 early Monday, lower than USD1.1434 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY162.04 versus JPY161.49.
Back in the UK, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to unveil a package of measures aimed at boosting small business growth in what is expected to be one of her final major policy speeches before leaving office.
In her Mansion House address on Tuesday, Reeves is expected to announce a GBP6.5 billion expansion of the government's Growth Guarantee Scheme, which provides a 70% state guarantee on commercial loans to small and medium-sized businesses.
The British Business Bank estimates the enhanced scheme will support around 33,000 businesses over the next three years. The government also plans to extend the maximum loan term from six to 10 years, raise the turnover threshold for eligibility to GBP54 million from GBP45 million, and introduce additional support to help UK firms expand exports.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.
In corporate news, Apple, which closed 0.2% lower on Friday in New York, has sued OpenAI in a California federal court, accusing the artificial intelligence company of orchestrating a systematic campaign to steal trade secrets and confidential information to accelerate development of its consumer hardware business.
The lawsuit alleges OpenAI recruited Apple employees to obtain details of unreleased technologies, products and manufacturing processes, naming OpenAI, its hardware subsidiary io Products, Chief Hardware Officer Tang Yew Tan and engineer Chang Liu as defendants.
Apple claims Tan, a former vice president of iPhone and Apple Watch product design, used confidential Apple project code names during job interviews and encouraged employees to bring hardware components to meetings. The company is seeking damages and an injunction preventing OpenAI from using its confidential information, saying the legal action became necessary after OpenAI failed to respond to concerns raised in February.
Apple described its findings as "the tip of the iceberg", saying it had only limited visibility into what was happening inside OpenAI.
The lawsuit could complicate OpenAI's plans for a closely watched initial public offering. OpenAI rejected the allegations, saying it has "no interest in other companies' trade secrets" and remains focused on developing its own technology.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 2.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was marginally lower.
Gold was quoted at USD4,064.00 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD4,101.39 on Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Grafton Group, Oxford Nanopore Technologies and PageGroup issue trading statements.
In the economic calendar on Monday, the focus is on the US monthly budget statement.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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