30th Oct 2026 06:58
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Friday as investors digest interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan, while a busy day of UK corporate earnings lies ahead.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 20.7 points higher, 0.2%, at 10,742.77 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.3% at 10,722.07 on Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3394 early Friday, higher than USD1.3369 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling edged up to EUR1.1978 from EUR1.1977 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1183 early Friday, higher than USD1.1162 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY157.58 versus JPY157.85.
The European Central Bank sought to reassure investors on Thursday that it had tools available to tackle disorderly market conditions, amid mounting concerns that France's deteriorating public finances could destabilise the wider eurozone.
The comments came as the ECB kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged despite mounting inflationary pressures stemming from the energy shock caused by the Iran war, while leaving the door open to a further rate increase in December.
The decision came just hours after ECB President Christine Lagarde announced plans to step down early, in February 2027.
At a press conference following the decision, attention turned to France's debt troubles after the country's sovereign bond yields, which reflect government borrowing costs, surged to their highest levels since 2002.
While declining to comment directly on France, Lagarde said: "Should market developments threaten the smooth transmission of our monetary policy, including through unwarranted and disorderly market movements, we have instruments available to respond."
However, she appeared to play down the prospect of imminent intervention, noting that specific criteria would need to be met before the central bank could deploy its crisis-fighting tools.
France's borrowing costs have risen sharply amid a political standoff over efforts to push through a budget aimed at reducing the country's deficit. The tensions have been compounded by widespread protests, partly driven by demands for increased public spending, which have escalated into some of the worst street violence in years.
Meanwhile, early Friday France's statistics agency said that the French economy fell by 0.1% in the third quarter from the second quarter, after stability in the second quarter from the first quarter.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.4%, after the Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged in a widely expected decision.
The BoJ maintained its benchmark interest rate at 1.25%, following a 25-basis-point increase in September that took borrowing costs to a 30-year high.
The decision, approved by an eight-to-one majority, followed interest rate holds by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the European Central Bank on Thursday.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 1.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.2%.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%, the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.4%.
Amazon shares closed 4.3% lower on Thursday and fell a further 7.3% in after-hours trading after the technology and retail giant reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue, despite continued growth at its Amazon Web Services cloud business.
Amazon said net income fell 2.3% to USD20.69 billion in the three months ended September 30 from USD21.18 billion a year earlier.
Earnings per share declined 3.0% to USD1.92 from USD1.98, missing the consensus estimate of USD1.96.
Amazon attributed the decline in profit and earnings per share primarily to USD9.5 billion in pretax gains recognised in the third quarter of 2025 from its investments in artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
Total sales rose 12% to USD201.94 billion from USD180.17 billion, but fell short of the consensus forecast of USD202.16 billion.
Gold was quoted at USD4,008.39 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD4,012.39 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD113.55 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD113.75 late Thursday.
Several European countries will release 42.6 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves in the coming months, as part of efforts by the Group of Seven nations to ease global energy supply concerns.
"EU member states have reaffirmed their commitment to an accelerated release of 42.6 million barrels from strategic reserves over the next months, and around half of this will be diesel," EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Thursday.
The announcement comes as disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continue to threaten global energy supplies.
Iran's armed forces said four tankers caught fire after striking mines while attempting to navigate the waterway, a day after the US military said it had cleared key shipping routes.
"Over the past 24 hours, three violating oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking mines while attempting to pass through the unauthorised southern route of the Strait of Hormuz," Iran's armed forces said.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency platform Binance said Thursday it had fallen victim to a major hack that hit around USD6.3 billion in funds, with about half that amount frozen to prevent a massive theft.
The company – the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes – posted a series of sometimes contradictory messages on X, insisting that "user funds are completely safe" but also saying it would "cover all losses."
The company said later on its X account for Latin America that "the total estimated impact is around USD6.3 billion."
In Friday's corporate calendar, AstraZeneca, BP and NatWest Group report third-quarter results, while Airtel Africa and AdvancedAdvT publish half-year results.
In the economic calendar on Friday, the UK releases Nationwide house price figures, while Germany publishes export and import prices, unemployment data, gross domestic product figures and consumer price inflation.
In the US, the employment cost index and Chicago purchasing managers' index are due.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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