7th Jul 2025 06:52
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower at the start of the week, with a US tariff deadline approaching.
US tariffs will kick in on August 1 if trading partners from Taiwan to the EU do not strike deals with Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday.
The rates will "boomerang back" to the sometimes very high levels that President Donald Trump had announced on April 2 – before he suspended the levies to allow for trade talks and set a July 9 deadline for agreements, Bessent told CNN.
Bessent confirmed comments by Trump to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, in which he also cited a new deadline: "Well, I'll probably start them on August 1."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 11.2 points, 0.1%, at 8,811.71 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 0.29 of a point at 8,822.91 on Friday.
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite traded down 0.1%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.2% lower. The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2%.
SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented: "Last week's fiscal bill cleared a key piece off the macro chessboard—bringing clarity on spending and tax. That alone lifts a layer of uncertainty that's been hanging over markets for months. But trade? That's still the wild card. The trajectory of US trade policy remains murky, volatile, and politically flammable—far from the kind of visibility risk markets crave."
Sterling faded to USD1.3614 early Monday, down from USD1.3640 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro traded at USD1.1768, down from USD1.1780. Against the yen, the dollar advanced to JPY145.05 from JPY144.53.
Financial markets in New York were closed on Friday.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury stretched slightly to 4.34% early Monday, from 4.33% at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The yield on the 30-year widened to 4.86% from 4.85%.
A barrel of Brent fell to USD67.70 early Monday, from USD68.19 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. Gold fell to USD3,312.54 an ounce from USD3,332.52.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the Opec+ alliance on Saturday said they would further increase oil output in August to 548,000 barrels per day.
Analysts had expected the alliance to decide on another output increase of 411,000 bpd – the same target approved for May, June and July.
Monday's economic calendar has a eurozone retail sales reading at 1000 BST.
In the corporate diary, Ferrexpo, which produces iron ore pellets in Ukraine, releases a production report.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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