22nd Dec 2025 06:55
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly lower at the start of a holiday-shortened week, before UK economic data, while gold powered to a new record level.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 4.9 points lower, 0.1%, at 9.892.52 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 59.65 points, 0.6% at 9,897.42 on Friday. It shot up 2.6% last week.
UK gross domestic product data at 0700 GMT is expected to confirm the UK economy grew by just 0.1% in the three months to September, slowing from 0.3% in the second quarter.
On Tuesday, there is US GDP data.
Sterling advanced to USD1.3393 early Monday from USD1.3373 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro was steady at USD1.1715. Against the yen, the dollar faded to JPY157.37 from JPY157.46.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.17% from 4.14% at the time of the closing bell on the London Stock Exchange late Friday afternoon. The 30-year yield stretched to 4.85% from 4.82%.
In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.4%, the S&P 500 up 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.9%.
The Dow shed 0.7% all of last week, while the S&P rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq 0.5%. Before Friday's rally, however, the S&P and tech-heavy Nasdaq were set for a weekly decline.
SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented: "Last week was a proper stress test. Doubts about AI valuation and the extent to which the Federal Reserve can realistically ease policy briefly knocked the market off balance.
"Asian equity markets are stepping onto the floor with a constructive bias, taking their cue from Friday's solid rebound in US stocks and the growing belief that the final stretch of the year still belongs to the bulls."
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.8% in late trade. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.7%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 0.1%. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.9%.
A barrel of Brent rose to USD61.09 early Monday from USD60.16 late Friday afternoon in London. Gold traded at USD4,410.22 an ounce, a new record high, from USD4,348.80.
SPI's Innes added: "Commodities add another layer of tension. Crude prices are back on the radar as the US pursues a third oil tanker near Venezuela, part of an escalating blockade aimed at economically crippling the Maduro government. Energy markets have learned to respect these geopolitical pressure points, especially when the market bid to offer liquidity is thin and positioning is skewed bearish."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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