15th Dec 2025 06:56
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday, as investors look ahead to a busy week for global central banks after a sour end to last week for global equities.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open higher 33.4 points, or 0.4% at 9,683.33 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.6% lower at 9,649.03 points on Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3368 early Monday, higher than USD1.3356 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro traded at USD1.1739 early Monday, unchanged from USD1.1739 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY155.75 versus JPY155.69.
Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, said: "On the policy front, we'll almost certainly be getting a 25bp cut from the Bank of England on Thursday, as well as a 25bp hike from the Bank of Japan on Friday, while the Riksbank, Norges Bank, and European Central Bank are all set to stand pat at their final meetings of the year."
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said last week ended on a mixed note for equities.
"Looking at global index performance, the message was fairly clear: investor appetite is waning for AI-related technology stocks, while non-tech and more value-oriented pockets of the market are benefiting from the latest Federal Reserve rate cut," she said.
"In the US, the Dow Jones briefly hit a fresh all-time high on Friday before retreating, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.9%, sliding into its 50-day moving average. Earnings from Oracle and Broadcom were not strong enough to reignite enthusiasm, with investors instead focusing on high leverage, elevated debt levels and cloudy revenue visibility," Ozkardeskaya added.
UK house prices fell in December, though they are expected to rise in 2026, data from Rightmove showed Monday. Average new seller asking prices dropped 1.8%, or GBP6,695, month-on-month in December to GBP358,138. Rightmove said the typical 10-year December decline is 1.4%.
The sharper-than-usual fall means prices ended 2025 around 0.6%, or GBP2,059, lower than at the end of 2024. Buyer demand was 3% ahead of 2024 levels in the first half of 2025, but 6% behind in the second half. Rightmove forecasts prices will increase by 2% in 2026.
Meanwhile, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate stands at 4.33%, compared with 5.08% a year ago.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.5%, the S&P 500 down 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.7%
US President Donald Trump said Kevin Hassett and Kevin Warsh are his leading candidates to head the Federal Reserve, adding that he expects the next chair to consult with him on interest rates, the Wall Street Journal reported. Trump said Warsh was at the top of his list, adding: "You have Kevin and Kevin. I think the two Kevins are great."
Trump argued the next Fed chair should consult with him on interest rates, a move that would challenge the long-standing independence of the central bank. "Typically, that's not done anymore. It used to be done routinely. It should be done," he said, adding that while he would not expect the chair to "do exactly what we say", his view "should be listened to."
Hassett, Trump's economic adviser and a leading candidate for the role, said the Fed's mission is to demonstrate independence, but added the president's opinion "matters." Asked whether the president's view would carry equal weight with voting members of the Fed's board, Hassett replied: "No, no…he would have no weight."
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 1.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.7%.
Chinese data showed industrial output growth slowed and retail sales growth weakened in November, while the jobless rate was unchanged.
Industrial production rose 4.8% year-on-year, down from 4.9% in October and below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 5.0%. Retail sales increased 1.3% year-on-year, slowing sharply from 2.9% in October and missing the 2.9% forecast.
China's urban surveyed unemployment rate remained steady at 5.1%.
Elsewhere, a US delegation expressed optimism following talks in Berlin on a potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. US special envoy Steve Witkoff said "a lot of progress was made" during discussions covering a 20-point peace plan and economic issues.
The meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US and Ukrainian delegations lasted more than five hours, though details of the proposals have not yet been made public.
Gold was quoted at USD4,344.00 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD4,291.08 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD61.40 a barrel early Monday, slightly higher than USD61.30 late Friday.
In the economic calendar on Monday, data due include Germany wholesale prices, Switzerland's SECO economic forecast, eurozone industrial production, Ireland's trade balance, Canada consumer price inflation and manufacturing sales, and the US New York Empire State manufacturing index.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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