3rd Aug 2026 06:59
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday as hopes for renewed US-Iran diplomacy offset caution following a joint US-Japan intervention to strengthen the yen.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 32.9 points higher, 0.3%, at 10,900.95 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.3% lower at 10,868.05 on Friday.
AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb are considering merging in a deal worth USD400 billion, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The Cambridge, England-based drug maker and its Lawrenceville, New Jersey-based peer recently held talks about a potential combination of their businesses, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the FT.
Brent oil was trading at USD83.32 a barrel early Monday, lower than USD90.12 late Friday.
US President Donald Trump said fresh negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday after he decided to hold off on military strikes in favour of pursuing a deal to end the war, now entering its sixth month.
Trump said Iran, alongside US partners Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, had urged him to delay what he claimed would have been "the biggest attack since World War II". He said the talks would focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies, and ultimately on Iran's denuclearisation.
Meanwhile, Iran said it was nearing an agreement with Oman over a new shipping route through the strait, where a tanker reported an explosion nearby on Sunday, underlining the continued volatility in the region.
Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY156.46 early Monday, down from JPY159.31 late Friday.
Trump confirmed that the US had intervened jointly with Japan to support the yen, calling the move a "signal of friendship" that would financially benefit the US and world economy.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that the US Treasury had jointly intervened with Japan to prop up the yen for the first time in nearly three decades.
Asked aboard Air Force One why the US was moving to support Japan's currency, Trump said: "Because we have a good relationship with Japan." The US will see "financial benefit" from the move and "it's also good for the world economy," Trump insisted, but "it was really more than anything else, it was a signal of friendship."
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 1.2%.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3473 early Monday, higher than USD1.3463 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1681 from EUR1.1702.
The euro traded at USD1.1535 early Monday, higher than USD1.1503 late Friday.
In the US on Friday, 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 1.0%.
Elsewhere in Asia on Monday, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong edged down 0.1%, after data showed China's manufacturing expansion lost momentum in July.
According to S&P Global, the RatingDog China manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 50.9 points in July from 51.7 in June, missing the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 51.5. While the reading remained above the 50-point threshold separating growth from contraction, it pointed to a slower pace of expansion despite continued gains in new orders and export demand.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.2%.
Back in the UK, Chancellor John Healey warned Cabinet ministers they must be prepared to make spending cuts to fund Prime Minister Andy Burnham's policy agenda.
Healey confirmed his first budget will be delivered on October 28 and said it would be "built on fiscal discipline". Burnham's early policy announcements, including a cut in VAT on energy bills, lower business rates for pubs, greater devolution in England and expanded technical training in schools, are all expected to require additional public spending.
Gold was quoted at USD4,063.10 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD4,041.68 on Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Senior, Clarkson and FDM Group report half-year results.
In the economic calendar on Monday, Germany releases retail sales figures, and Switzerland reports CPI. A raft of manufacturing PMI readings is also due from Spain, Switzerland, France, Germany, the eurozone, the UK and the US, alongside the US ISM manufacturing PMI.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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