5th Jun 2026 06:57
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly higher on Friday, as investors weigh fresh tensions in the Iran conflict ahead of key US jobs data later in the day.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 11.8 points higher, 0.1%, at 10,372.12 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.3% higher at 10,360.32 on Thursday.
Fresh strikes were reported in Lebanon just hours after Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire on Wednesday, with the deal contingent on an end to attacks by Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is not a party to the agreement, and the leader of the Iran-backed militant group has already rejected the pact.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iran's new supreme leader if a deal to end the war can be reached. He also claimed that "progress has been made" in efforts to end the fighting in Lebanon
Brent oil was trading at USD95.40 a barrel early Friday, higher than USD94.88 late Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3430 early Friday, lower than USD1.3436 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling slipped to EUR1.1556 from EUR1.1558 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1618 early Friday, lower than USD1.1624 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY159.93 versus JPY159.99.
Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Western warnings that Russia could pose a threat to NATO countries or launch an attack on the alliance, calling such claims "nonsense".
Putin accused Western governments of deliberately creating a threat narrative that "in reality does not exist at all".
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a face-to-face meeting with Putin in a rare open letter, shortly after the Russian leader acknowledged Moscow needed to strengthen its air defences following a series of Ukrainian attacks.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.7%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite marginally lower.
US President Trump also announced plans to use Cold War-era legislation to unlock USD700 million of funding for coal projects as part of his push to expand domestic fossil fuel production.
The funding, made available through the Defense Production Act, will support more than a dozen coal plants across ten states, keep 42 mines operating, and finance two new coal plants and an export terminal.
In corporate news, artificial intelligence firm Anthropic called for a global slowdown in the development of the most advanced AI systems, warning that cutting-edge models are beginning to show signs they could escape human control.
The San Francisco-based company said a coordinated international pause in frontier AI development would "likely be a good thing", but cautioned that any unilateral move would simply allow competitors to move ahead. Anthropic said any meaningful pause would require major AI developers, particularly in the US and China, to act simultaneously under verifiable rules.
Meanwhile, New York's state legislature passed a bill Thursday night that would prevent permits from being issued for the construction of new data centers for a year, potentially the first law of its kind in the US.
The bill now heads to the desk of New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who could sign it into law or veto the measure.
If Hochul signs the bill, New York would become the first US state to impose a moratorium on data centers, which are critical infrastructure for AI companies whose programs rely on the facilities to operate.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 1.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.7%.
Back in the UK, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham confirmed he would seek to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer if he wins an upcoming parliamentary by-election and a Labour leadership contest is triggered.
Burnham is seeking a return to Westminster as Labour MP for Makerfield and told a BBC talkshow that if elected he would seek to represent constituents "at the highest possible level".
He added that if former Health Secretary Wes Streeting launches a leadership challenge, he would also put himself forward.
Separately, data from the British Retail Consortium and Sensormatic showed the decline in UK footfall eased in May after a sharp fall in April.
Total UK footfall was down 2.6% on-year in May, improving from a 10.7% decline in April. High street footfall fell 1.5%, retail park footfall declined 0.5%, and shopping centre footfall was down 2.4%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,444.30 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD4,471.69 on Thursday.
In the economic calendar on Friday, attention turns to the UK Halifax house price index, alongside French industrial production and trade balance data, and eurozone gross domestic product figures.
In North America, the spotlight will be on US nonfarm payrolls and the US unemployment rate for May. Canada also releases unemployment data and the Ivey PMI.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.