30th Dec 2025 06:52
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is set to open a touch higher on Monday, after registering a slight decline in subdued trade at the start of the week, while stocks in New York declined overnight.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 12.1 points higher, 0.1%, at 9,878.63 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed down just 4.15 points at 9,866.53 on Monday.
In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.5%.
SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented: "This feels less like the start of something ominous and more like the market clearing its throat before year-end. Thin liquidity, mechanical flows, overextended positioning, and a calendar that encourages exaggeration. The ice cracked, but it did not break. The deeper questions about the next phase of AI, the Fed's path, market concentration, and policy all remain parked in the new year."
In Tokyo on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was up 0.9%. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1%.
Sterling rose to USD1.3514 early Tuesday in London, from USD1.3491 at the time of the London equities close on Monday. The euro rose to USD1.1777 from USD1.1757. Against the yen, the dollar edged up to JPY156.08 from JPY156.04.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was unchanged at 4.12%, while the 30-year yield widened slightly to 4.81% from 4.80%.
A barrel of Brent fell to USD61.35 early Tuesday from USD61.48 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Gold traded at USD4,363.01 an ounce, up from USD4,336.60.
Tuesday sees the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes at 1900 GMT.
A quarter-point cut in December, the third in successive meetings, took the Federal Reserve's target range for the federal funds rate to 3.50%-3.75%.
Nine of the 12-strong Federal Open Market Committee's voters backed the rate reduction. Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid and Austan Goolsbee of the Chicago Fed pressed the case for the status quo, while Trump ally Stephen Miran once more supported a jumbo half-point cut.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters after the decision that the Fed funds rate is now "within a range of plausible estimates of neutral, and leave us well-positioned to determine the extent and timing of additional adjustments".
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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