2nd Apr 2026 06:58
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump's nationwide address broke little new ground on ending the Iran war.
Promising another two to three weeks further of "extremely hard" strikes, Trump said the US was aiming to crush Iran's military, end its support for regional armed groups and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear bomb, and said those "core strategic objectives are nearing completion". He again threatened that if Iran does not reach a negotiated settlement with him, the US would "hit each and every one of their electric generating plants."
Further, Trump has said countries which rely on the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane for oil should "build up some delayed courage" and "just grab it".
The US president also said after the Iran conflict was over, the critical waterway would "just open up naturally".
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, meanwhile, said Washington's demands were "maximalist and irrational," and denied that any direct ceasefire negotiations were in progress.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 95.3 points, 0.9%, on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed up 1.9% at 10,364.79 on Wednesday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3219 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3324 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling softened to EUR1.1466 from EUR1.1476 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1533 early Thursday, lower than USD1.1608 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY159.42 versus JPY158.66.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.2%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 2.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.9%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 1.1%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,638.79 an ounce early Thursday, lower than USD4,781.92 on Wednesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD107.08 a barrel early Thursday, higher than USD101.83 late Wednesday.
In Thursday's corporate calendar, Baillie Gifford Japan Trust reports half year results.
In the economic calendar on Thursday, the morning has Swiss consumer inflation and French budget balance data.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.