1st Jul 2026 06:55
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Wednesday, at the start of a new month and quarter, ahead of a slew of manufacturing purchasing managers' index reports.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 26.3 points, 0.3%, at 10,470.82 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 12.90 points, 0.1%, at 10,497.12 on Tuesday.
Sterling was at USD1.3245 on Wednesday morning, down from USD1.3263 at the London equities close on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling retreated to EUR1.1603 from EUR1.1614.
The euro was lower at USD1.1409 from USD1.1419. Against the yen, the dollar firmed to JPY162.69 from JPY162.60.
Iran said it would meet with Qatari mediators on Wednesday to discuss negotiations with the US, after Tehran and Washington agreed to a memorandum of understanding to halt the Middle East war.
Iranian officials will travel to the Qatari capital Doha but contradicted US President Donald Trump's claim that direct talks will take place.
Brent crude was trading slightly higher at USD73.10 a barrel on Wednesday morning from USD73.04 on Tuesday.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, while the S&P 500 ended 0.8% higher and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5%.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 0.8%.
Japan's manufacturing activity strengthened in June as output and demand improved, S&P Global reported. The Japan manufacturing PMI rose to 54.8 points in June from 54.5 in May, slightly below the 54.9 points flash reading.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.5% higher, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney fell 0.7%. Financial markets in Hong Kong are closed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Nike struck a cautious tone despite fourth quarter sales and earnings that beat forecasts.
The Beaverton, Oregon-based athletic brand said net income ballooned to USD1.07 billion in the three months to May 31 from USD211 million the year prior. Basic and diluted earnings per share climbed to USD0.72 from USD0.14 a year ago.
Revenue edged down to USD10.97 billion when compared with USD11.10 billion a year ago, and fell 2% at constant currency rates, but beat consensus of USD10.84 billion.
Elsewhere, Anthropic will soon begin restoring access globally to its most powerful artificial intelligence models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after the US government lifted a restriction on where they could be released, the company said.
"We've received notice that the Department of Commerce has lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5," Anthropic posted on X. "We'll begin restoring access tomorrow." Earlier this month, US authorities blocked access to the models on national security grounds.
Gold was lower at USD3,974.08 an ounce early on Wednesday from USD4,032.83 late Tuesday.
Wednesday's global economic calendar has a range of manufacturing PMI reports, eurozone CPI data and the ADP private payroll report in the US.
Wednesday's local corporate calendar has a trading statement from Primark owner Associated British Foods and retailer Topps Tiles.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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