28th Jul 2026 06:54
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Tuesday, returning some progress from a strong day on Monday which saw shares boosted by hope of easing US-Iran tensions.
Tech shares in the US and Asia struggled, with hefty falls seen in Tokyo and Seoul.
Oil fell further, on continued hope of thawing US and Iran tensions.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 31.6 points, 0.3%, at 10,750.15 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 45.52 points, 0.4%, at 10,781.75 on Monday.
Sterling faded to USD1.3289 on Tuesday from USD1.3305 at the time of the London equities close on Monday. Versus the euro it declined to EUR1.1687 from EUR1.1698. The euro itself fell to USD1.1365 from USD1.1376. The dollar was up at JPY163.73 from JPY163.67.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury narrowed to 4.63% early Tuesday from 4.65% late Monday afternoon. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury eased to 5.12% from 5.13%.
In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, the S&P 500 ended flat, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% despite starting the day in the green.
"The Nasdaq started Monday's session on a positive note, supported by the sharp decline in oil prices following the easing of geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. The relief in energy markets initially boosted risk appetite, particularly benefiting technology companies, which typically perform well in an environment of lower inflationary pressures and expectations of more stable financing costs. However, that optimism proved short-lived. As the session progressed, the technology-heavy index completely erased its gains," XS.com senior market analyst Antonio Di Giacomo commented.
"The main catalyst was a report indicating significant progress by China in developing domestic semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which increased uncertainty about the industry's competitive landscape. Semiconductor-related companies were the hardest hit by this shift in sentiment."
Nvidia fell 5.0%, while AMD shed 5.2%.
The unease was felt in Asian trade also. The Nikkei 225 was down 4.1% on Tuesday in Tokyo. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.3%. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 0.2%. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200, however, was up 0.5%. In Seoul, the Kospi shed 11%, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each down 13%.
Gold fell to USD4,040.31 an ounce early Tuesday from USD4,077.10 late Monday. Brent remained solidly below USD90 a barrel, falling further to USD87.83 from USD89.71.
US President Donald Trump on Monday voiced optimism at the prospects for a negotiated peace deal with Iran, as the two sides held their fire for a third consecutive day.
Fighting between the longtime foes has been paused since Friday after 13 nights of renewed US strikes on the Islamic republic sparked by a breakdown in diplomacy over Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
But the US leader expressed hope that renewed diplomacy could bring an end to the war that began in late February with a wave of US-Israeli strikes, rattling both the region and the global economy.
"I have a lot of patience...We'll see what happens," he said aboard Air Force One. "I think there is a good chance that something could happen."
Tuesday's economic calendar sees a Conference Board consumer confidence reading and the start of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
The Fed is expected to hold.
Rabobank analyst commented: "Trump is not taking a note from [Fed Chair Kevin Warsh] with regard to his philosophy on limiting communication on monetary policy, also making his stance on interest rates and the Fed very clear yesterday. Predictably, Trump re-emphasized that he thinks 'rates should be lowered,' but qualified that 'you need a consensus from people,' highlighting that 'Warsh is great, but he has a board.' The tone came across as softer than that he used when speaking of Warsh's predecessor."
Tuesday's UK corporate calendar has half-year results from lender Barclays, pharmaceuticals firm GSK and consumer goods firm Unilever.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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