27th Apr 2026 06:59
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly lower on Monday, as oil prices rise after US-Iran peace talks stalled.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 9.9 points lower, 0.1%, at 10,369.18 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.8% lower at 10,379.08 on Friday.
Oil prices climbed after negotiations between Washington and Tehran faltered, with Brent crude quoted at USD107.34 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD105.78 late Friday.
The move followed comments from US President Donald Trump, who on Saturday cancelled plans to send a delegation to Pakistan for talks with Iran, saying there was no point "sitting around talking about nothing".
Trump said he scrapped the visit after being dissatisfied with Tehran's stance, though added that a revised proposal was received shortly afterwards.
The White House had previously said Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff were set to travel to Pakistan for discussions aimed at moving "towards a deal". Asked whether the cancellation signalled a return to hostilities, Trump said: "No, it doesn't mean that. We haven't thought about it yet."
In the UK, the British public could face higher prices as a result of the conflict in Iran, with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones warning that energy, food and flight costs may remain elevated for months.
He said price pressures could persist for around eight months after the Strait of Hormuz reopens and tensions ease, as disruptions to energy supplies continue to affect production rather than cause shortages on supermarket shelves.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3535 early Monday, higher than USD1.3497 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling rose to EUR1.1544 from EUR1.1532 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1725 early Monday, higher than USD1.1703 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY159.35 versus JPY159.55.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.6%.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he would support Kevin Warsh's nomination as Federal Reserve chair after a Department of Justice investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell was dropped. Tillis had previously warned he would oppose Warsh unless the probe was halted, removing a key obstacle ahead of a confirmation vote before Powell's term ends on May 15.
In corporate news, Alphabet's Google is planning to invest up to USD40 billion in artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, expanding their existing partnership. The deal includes an initial USD10 billion investment, with a further USD30 billion contingent on performance milestones. Anthropic will use Google's custom chips and cloud services to develop its technology.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.3%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,711.73 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD4,718.34 on Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Bango and Power Probe report full year results.
In the economic calendar on Monday, Germany consumer confidence and the US Dallas Fed manufacturing index are due.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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