6th Feb 2026 06:52
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Friday, after artificial intelligence spending fears were reignited on Wall Street.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 47.4 points, 0.5%, at 10,261.82 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed down 93.12 points, 0.9%, at 10,309.22 on Thursday.
Sterling was at USD1.3572 on Friday morning, up from USD1.3536 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro was higher at USD1.1800 from USD1.1791. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JPY156.84 versus JPY156.96.
Investors continued to digest Thursday's central bank decisions. The Bank of England left bank rate unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday, by a slim 5-4 majority.
Pepperstone analyst Michael Brown said the data was accompanied with a "dovish updated forecast slate, which pointed to the 2% inflation target not only being achieved this spring, but CPI then staying there over the remainder of the horizon. Providing that incoming data behaves itself, a 25 [basis point] cut at the March meeting looks to be on the cards."
In Europe, the European Central Bank also left rates on hold.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer remains under pressure from within Labour ranks as he seeks to steady the ship amid widespread anger over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Leadership speculation intensified as the prime minister gave a speech apologising to Jeffrey Epstein's victims for believing the peer's "lies" about his relationship with the paedophile financier.
Backbenchers have called for either his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney to be sacked or for Starmer himself to step down after bombshell revelations about Mandelson's dealings with the child sex offender.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.2%, the S&P 500 1.2% lower and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.6%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.1% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was 2.0% lower.
Overnight, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said capital expenditures will total USD200 million in 2026, significantly above FactSet consensus of USD146.6 billion and ahead of 2025's around USD131 billion.
Jassy named "such strong demand for our existing offerings and seminal opportunities like AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites," as reason for the increased investment.
The CEO said Amazon anticipates "strong long-term return on invested capital."
The plans come a day after Google owner Alphabet said it will spend between USD175 billion and USD185 billion in 2026.
Amazon said net income rose to USD21.19 billion in the fourth quarter from USD20.00 billion a year prior. Diluted earnings per share grew to USD1.95 from USD1.86, below FactSet consensus of USD1.97.
Pepperstone analyst Michael Brown said: "The tech sector again led downside on Wall Street... not helped by somewhat sub-par earnings from Amazon after the bell. Those earnings, of course, dropping into a market which continues to take a more sceptical view of the entire AI theme, as the return on what is, frankly, a ridiculous amount of capital expenditure continues to be questioned."
Gold was slightly higher at USD4,854.20 an ounce early on Friday from USD4,848.34 late Thursday.
Brent oil was trading higher at USD68.31 a barrel on Friday morning from USD67.37 on Thursday.
Friday's UK corporate calendar has a trading statement from Victrex.
Friday's global economic calendar has Canadian jobs data, French trade figures and the Halifax house price index report in the UK, which is due shortly.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.