8th Jan 2026 06:55
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Thursday, ahead of trading statements from Tesco and Marks & Spencer.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 0.4% at 10,003.91 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed down 0.7% at 10,048.21 on Wednesday.
Sterling was at USD1.3459 on Thursday morning, down from USD1.3472 at the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro was slightly lower at USD1.1681 from USD1.1685. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JPY156.57 versus JPY156.74.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington will control sales of Venezuelan oil "indefinitely," a day after President Donald Trump announced Venezuela's interim leaders had agreed to US-managed marketing of 30-50 million barrels of crude.
"We're going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace," Wright said at a Goldman Sachs energy event in Miami.
The US is lifting some of its sanctions on Venezuela to allow the transport and sale of Venezuelan oil on the global market, the Department of Energy said. The department did not specify which sanctions would be eased or when the changes would take effect.
Several oil tankers involved in transporting Venezuelan crude are currently subject to US sanctions.
Brent oil was trading lower at USD60.18 a barrel from USD60.37.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.9%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite ended up 0.2%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was at 4.14% on Thursday, narrowed slightly from 4.15% on Wednesday. The yield on the 30-year was unchanged at 4.82%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was down 1.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.1% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 1.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.3%.
Gold was down at USD4,433.20 an ounce early on Thursday from USD4,458.54 late Wednesday.
Thursday's local corporate calendar has trading statements from hot snacks seller Greggs, clothing and homewear retailer Marks & Spencer Group and grocer Tesco.
Thursday's global economic calendar has eurozone unemployment and PPI figures, US weekly jobless claims data and the Halifax house price report in the UK.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.