31st Mar 2025 06:51
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Monday, with markets gripped by tariff worry.
Stocks in New York tumbled on Friday, and equities in Asia kicked off the week sharply lower.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 54.2 points lower, 0.6%, at 8,604.65 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 7.27, 0.1%, at 8,658.85 on Friday.
The FTSE 100 has risen 5.9% so far this year. Monday is the final day of the first-quarter.
In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.7%, the S&P 500 slumped 2.0% and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.7%.
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 was down 3.9% in late dealings, while the S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.8%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong shed 1.7%.
US President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that he "couldn't care less" if automakers increase car prices for Americans in the wake of his imposition of import tariffs.
There have been reports that Trump threatened auto executives with reprisals if prices jump, but he told NBC News that increasing prices would simply help US-based manufacturers.
"I couldn't care less. I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty," he told NBC host Kristen Welker.
On Thursday, Trump imposed a blanket 25% import tariff on cars and light trucks made outside the US, due to take effect on April 3.
SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented: "That's a body blow to the global auto industry—and it's just the appetizer. Markets are now bracing for the main course: Trump's 'reciprocal tariff D-Day' on April 2. The problem? You can't hedge what you can't define. The tariff rubric is still a black box, and that leaves traders in the dark."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Trump spoke on Sunday and discussed "productive" talks towards a UK-US trade deal, the Downing Street office said.
"They discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK-US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace this week," a statement read.
"They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days."
Against the dollar, the pound rose to USD1.2957 early Monday, rising from USD1.2945 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro climbed to USD1.0839 from USD1.0829. Versus the yen, the dollar fell to JPY149.03 from JPY150.07.
Commerzbank analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann commented: "On Friday, inflation data was released from France and Spain. Today, data is expected from additional euro area countries, and tomorrow, the euro area as a whole will be reported. Friday's data indicated that inflation was lower in March than analysts had expected. If this trend continues today and tomorrow, one would expect the euro to suffer. After all, lower inflation implies that the ECB should have good reason to lower its key interest rate particularly quickly."
Monday's economic calendar has German inflation data at 1300 BST, after UK mortgage approvals at 0930 BST.
A barrel of Brent traded at USD72.43 early Monday, largely unmoved from USD72.45 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Gold spiked to USD3,114.01 an ounce from USD3,081.91. It hit another record high just below USD3,116 earlier Monday.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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