13th Oct 2025 06:55
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open a touch higher on Monday, after US President Donald Trump struck a warmer tone with China over the weekend, after a tariff threat late on Friday.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 5.2 points higher, 0.1%, at 9,432.67 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 81.93 points, 0.9%, at 9,427.47 on Friday, following a late sell-off sparked by Trump's tariff comments.
Trump said Friday he no longer feels a summit is necessary with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this month, slamming Beijing for hostile trade practices and threatening "massive" tariffs.
"Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile," Trump said in a long post on Truth Social that railed against China imposing export controls on rare earth minerals – a critical component in modern technology.
"One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the US of America," Trump said, adding that he was considering "many other countermeasures."
The remarks came shortly before the closing bell in Europe, so it was stocks in New York that bore the brunt of Friday's sell-off.
In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sunk 1.9%, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 3.6%. Stocks are called to open higher on Monday, however.
After the close in New York, Trump said he would impose further 100% tariffs on China from November 1 after Beijing imposed "extraordinarily aggressive" export curbs on rare earth minerals.
"Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position... the US of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying," Trump said on Truth Social.
Beijing, in turn, accused Washington of acting unfairly, with its Ministry of Commerce on Sunday calling Trump's tariff threat an example of "double standards".
However, over the weekend Trump said the US wants to help China, not hurt it, striking a conciliatory tone days after threatening the additional tariff.
"The USA. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!," Trump said in Sunday's post on Truth Social, adding that "respected President Xi (Jinping)... doesn't want Depression for his country."
In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong sunk 2.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.8%. Financial markets in Tokyo are closed on Monday for Sports Day.
Sterling traded at USD1.3354 early Monday, up from USD1.3338 at the time of the London equities close Friday. The euro was flat at USD1.1616 while against the yen, the dollar faded ever-so-slightly to JPY151.83 from JPY151.87.
A barrel of Brent rose to USD63.58 from USD63.19. Gold traded at USD4,073.41 an ounce, up from USD4,014.76. Gold rose as high as USD4,078, another record.
No major events are scheduled for Monday's global economic diary with financial markets closed on Canada and bond markets shut in the US. Later in the week, GDP and jobs market figures will be released in the UK and inflation data in China.
Pepperstone analyst Michael Brown commented: "Quite clearly, trade developments are set to dominate the upcoming week, especially as the continuing US government shutdown means that markets will continue to operate in a data vacuum. While stateside data may be lacking, there are plenty of central bank speakers to make up for things, including the 'big three' of Fed Chair Powell, ECB President Lagarde, and BoE Governor Bailey, though explicit guidance as to the policy outlook is unlikely.
"As well as that, this week marks the start of Q3 earnings season, with the banks kicking things off tomorrow. Per Factset, overall S&P 500 earnings growth is expected at 8.0% YoY in Q3, an outturn which would mark the ninth consecutive quarter of growth for the index."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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