7th Apr 2026 06:57
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Tuesday after the Easter break, while oil prices saw another surge as US the president threatened to strike "every bridge in Iran" if a peace deal deadline is not met.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 17.3 points lower, 0.2%, at 10,418.99 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 71.50 points, 0.7%, at 10,436.29 on Thursday, before the Easter break. Financial markets in London have been closed since.
In the US on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.35% on Tuesday morning UK time from 4.30% at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The 30-year yield was at 4.91%, stretching from 4.89%.
Late Monday, the yield on the 10-year was 4.34% and the 30-year was also 4.89%.
Sterling bought USD1.3230 early Tuesday, down slightly from USD1.3238 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday and USD1.3233 late Monday. Against the euro, the pound traded at EUR1.1468, up from EUR1.1463 on Thursday and EUR1.1467 late Monday.
The euro faded to USD1.1535 on Monday from USD1.1548 at the London equities close Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar shot up to JPY159.77 from JPY159.31. Late Monday, the single currency traded at USD1.1540 and the dollar bought JPY159.73.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was flat. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 1.5%.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that the military had war plans to destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran over a four-hour period if his peace deal deadline is not met.
"We have a plan - because of the power of our military - where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again," Trump said at a press conference. "I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock (midnight), and it'll happen over a period of four hours - if we wanted to."
Trump previously set 8:00 pm Washington time on Tuesday (midnight GMT) for Iran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Pepperstone analyst Michael Brown commented: "Trade has been tentative in recent sessions amid a swathe of holiday closures, despite a plethora of catalysts including the March jobs report, and nonstop geopolitical news flow. Conflict in the Middle East remains in focus today, as Trump's Iran deadline looms large.
Gold fell to USD4,632.69 an ounce early Tuesday, from USD4,663.40 on Thursday and USD4,658.56 late on Monday.
A barrel of Brent surged to USD111.43 on Tuesday from USD106.75 on Thursday. Late Monday, it fetched USD109.50. The West Texas Intermediate benchmark is now trading higher, at USD115.47 a barrel.
Britain will host a meeting of allied military officers to discuss plans for securing the Strait of Hormuz as US President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the waterway looms.
The UK government has pledged to stay out of any offensive action against Iran.
Ahead of Tuesday's deadline, Britain's Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, outside London, will host a meeting of military planners to discuss long-term measures to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait, a vital shipping route for oil and gas, has been effectively blockaded by Tehran since the outbreak of war, causing major disruption to oil supplies and threatening fuel shortages across the world.
"I'd wager, though, that few market participants really managed to switch off over Easter, not least considering that we had the March jobs report released on Good Friday; President Trump calling on Iran to 'open the f***ing Strait' on Easter Sunday; and Trump again stealing the limelight yesterday, amid countless further comments on Iran," Pepperstone's Brown commented.
"The jobs report does warrant some attention, despite it being entirely overshadowed by goings-on in the Middle East."
The US labour market grew by more than expected last month, numbers on Friday showed, recovering after jobs were shed in February.
According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 in March, beating the FXStreet cited forecast of 60,000 jobs additions by some margin.
"Job gains occurred in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing. Federal
government employment continued to decline," the BLS said.
In February, 133,000 jobs were shed, in a reading that was downwardly revised from an initially reported 92,000 decline in nonfarm payrolls.
Tuesday's global economic calendar has a slew of composite PMI readings including the UK at 0930 BST. In the US, durable goods orders data is due and a consumer inflation expectations report.
Tuesday's domestic corporate calendar has full year results from JTC.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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