13th Apr 2026 06:57
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Monday, as renewed tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices weigh on sentiment.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 60.0 points lower, 0.6% at 10,540.53 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed marginally lower at 10,600.53 on Friday.
Iran and the US failed to reach an agreement to end the Middle East conflict, US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday after marathon talks in Islamabad, adding he was leaving after presenting Tehran with the "final and best offer".
Vance said Washington was seeking a "fundamental commitment" from Iran not to develop a nuclear weapon, but "we haven't seen that" following the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Meanwhile, the US military said it will begin blockading all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, while allowing vessels not linked to Iran to continue transiting the Strait of Hormuz. "The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports," US Central Command said, adding that freedom of navigation for ships heading to non-Iranian ports would not be impeded, softening an earlier stance from US President Donald Trump that "any and all ships" would be blocked.
Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, "As participants reach once more for the ‘conflict escalation' playbook. As such, crude benchmarks have advanced, with front Brent & WTI both back above USD100bbl, while the dollar again acts akin to the only haven in town. Losses are seen elsewhere, with equity futures in the red on both sides of the pond, gold rolling over, and Govvies facing some headwinds too."
Trump added he does not care whether Iran returns to negotiations after talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal. "I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland following his return from Florida.
Brent oil was trading at USD102.07 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD96.14 late Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3407 early Monday, lower than USD1.3472 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1470 from EUR1.1482 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1688 early Monday, lower than USD1.1735 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY159.70, up versus JPY159.10.
In the UK, Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned that "the war in Iran will come at a cost to British families and businesses". While the scale of the impact remains uncertain, she said the government is committed to supporting those affected. The UK will host further talks next week with international partners aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restoring freedom of navigation for global energy shipments.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.4%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.8%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was marginally lower, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.1%. Beijing also announced a series of measures to enhance exchanges with Taiwan, releasing 10 initiatives aimed at promoting "peaceful development of cross-strait relations" and improving economic and social ties, according to state media. These include efforts to resume a pilot programme allowing individual travel to Taiwan from Shanghai and Fujian province.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.5%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,721.62 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD4,775.63 on Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Arecor Therapeutics, Cambridge Cognition, Churchill China and Concurrent Technologies report full-year results, while Sirius Real Estate and Wise issue trading statements.
In the economic calendar on Monday, US existing home sales are due.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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