6th Nov 2026 06:57
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open sharply lower on Friday, tracking a steep sell-off on Wall Street and losses across Asian markets, as concerns over the outlook for artificial intelligence companies weighed on sentiment.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 116.9 points lower, 1.1%, at 10,665.76 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed down 0.4% at 10,782.66 on Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3426 early Friday, lower than USD1.3473 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1995 from EUR1.2001 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1192 early Friday, lower than USD1.1228 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY157.90 versus JPY157.84.
UK retail footfall declined sharply in October amid weak consumer confidence, according to data published by the British Retail Consortium and Sensormatic.
Total UK footfall fell 4.7% year-on-year in October, worsening from a 2.9% decline in September and marking the steepest fall since April.
High street footfall declined 5.2%, compared with a 3.0% fall in September, while retail park footfall dropped 3.6%, accelerating from a 1.7% decrease.
Shopping centre footfall fell 4.1%, compared with a 3.5% decline in September.
Wales recorded the sharpest decline, with footfall down 6.3%, followed by England at 4.6% and Scotland at 4.3%. Northern Ireland saw the smallest decrease, at 3.1%.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street suffered heavy losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 3.4%, the S&P 500 down 4.4% and the Nasdaq Composite plunging 5.5%.
The sell-off came as Silicon Valley executives faced the prospect of heightened scrutiny from a Democratic-controlled Congress following the party's sweeping victory in Tuesday's midterm elections, in which opposition to artificial intelligence played a significant role.
Technology executives who had cultivated close ties with President Donald Trump now face the possibility of congressional investigations and subpoenas once Democrats take control of both chambers on January 3.
"AI company CEOs should be called to testify under oath," said Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Senator Ed Markey warned technology executives they would need to "plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we'll be printing."
The shift marks a reversal for Silicon Valley leaders who rallied behind Trump following his 2024 election victory, including Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who attended his January 2025 inauguration.
Musk spent more than USD250 million supporting Trump's presidential campaign before taking charge of the administration's Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative. He subsequently committed nearly USD500 million more to supporting Republican candidates in the midterm elections.
With Democrats set to control congressional committees empowered to compel testimony and demand internal documents, executives including Musk, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman and Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang could face investigations similar to those involving the heads of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google in 2020 over their market dominance.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo plunged 6.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney declined 0.5%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,048.15 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD4,116.08 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD99.87 a barrel early Friday, higher than USD97.34 late Thursday.
Meanwhile, Trump predicted a "very big" agreement with Russia that could extend beyond the war in Ukraine to encompass wider European security, following an unexpected meeting with an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the White House.
Trump said he held an unscheduled meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, who was visiting the White House for discussions with Ukrainian officials hosted by US First Lady Melania Trump.
"I can't tell you what I discussed. But I'm just telling you, it's going to be an agreement, it's going to be a big agreement," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"It's going to be very big. It's going to involve more than Ukraine, and I could even say it might involve all of Europe. It's going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone's going to be thrilled."
Trump said he had not met with the Ukrainian officials who were also at the White House.
The comments are likely to heighten concerns among European allies that Washington could seek an agreement with Moscow that would pressure Ukraine into accepting unfavourable terms to end Russia's invasion.
Nato members are also watching closely for signs that Trump could accommodate Russian demands to reduce US influence in Europe, after previously suggesting that American troops could be withdrawn from the continent.
In Friday's corporate calendar, Aimia reports third-quarter results, while Rightmove and TBC Bank Group issue trading statements.
In the economic calendar on Friday, UK house price figures from Lloyds are due, alongside German industrial production and eurozone retail sales data.
In the US, the October nonfarm payrolls report and unemployment rate are scheduled for release, followed by the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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