11th Jun 2026 06:55
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Thursday, as hopes for a peace deal in the Middle East dwindled as the US and Iran continued to strike each other, while investors look ahead to today's European Central Bank interest rate call.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 28.3 points, 0.3%, at 10,226.51 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed up 27.48 points, 0.3%, at 10,254.81 on Wednesday.
Sterling was at USD1.3383 on Thursday morning, down from USD1.3397 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1584 from EUR1.1593.
The euro was lower at USD1.1549 from USD1.1556. Against the yen, the dollar edged up to JPY160.51 from JPY160.46.
The US launched fresh attacks against Iran on Thursday, prompting Tehran to retaliate, as US leaders accused their counterparts of dragging out negotiations for a deal to end the three-month war.
US President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly said negotiations with Tehran were close to an end, said Wednesday that Iran keeps "playing us for suckers" and will now "have to pay the price".
Hours after, US Central Command said American forces began "additional self-defense strikes" in response to what it called Tehran's "unwarranted and continued aggression".
Iranian media reported explosions across the south near the Strait of Hormuz, with explosions heard in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Minab, and sources reporting hits by "enemy projectiles" in Kargan and Sirik.
In response, Brent crude was trading higher at USD93.40 a barrel on Thursday morning from USD92.98 on Wednesday.
The renewed hostilities came as Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that if Trump required it, "we'll negotiate with bombs, and we're very good at it".
In response to the US strikes, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said they had struck US targets on bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and that they also "hit and destroyed Sheikh Isa air bases", according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Iranian news agency, Tasnim, quoted the country's military operational command as saying the crucial waterway was "completely closed" and that "any vessel traffic" there would be targeted.
Centcom denied that, saying "commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight".
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.9%, while the S&P 500 sank 1.6% while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.0%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was down slightly. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.4% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.1%.
Oracle said it plans to raise USD40 billion through a combination of debt and equity financing in the current financial year as it reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results.
The Austin, Texas-based, cloud technologies-focused company said net income rose 26% to USD4.30 billion in the three months to May 31, its financial fourth quarter, from USD3.43 billion the year prior.
Gold was lower at USD4,105.44 an ounce early on Thursday from USD4,129.15 late Wednesday.
Thursday's local corporate calendar has full year results from safety products manufacturer Halma and budget airline Wizz Air.
Thursday's global economic calendar sees an interest rate call by the European Central Bank, plus US PPI and weekly jobless claims data.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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