20th Oct 2025 06:57
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday, recovering from Friday's sell-off, as investors take encouragement from a rebound on Wall Street and positive signals in US-China trade talks.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 30.7 points higher, 0.3%, at 9,384.57 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 81.52 points, 0.9%, at 9,354.57 on Friday. Over the course of last week, it shed 0.8%.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all closed up 0.5%.
In Asia on Monday, sentiment improved sharply. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 2.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 2.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed 0.4%.
Trade tensions between the US and China remain in focus after Beijing imposed new restrictions on rare earth metal exports, prompting Washington to threaten 100% tariffs. However, some investors are hopeful of a temporary truce.
Swissquote senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said: "Trade tensions between the US and China are fully back after China restricted rare earth metal exports to the US and the US threatened China with 100% tariffs - before Scott Bessent said later in the week that there could still be a trade truce for another three months. Bessent will meet Chinese leaders this week, hopefully to ease the latest flare-up."
China and the US agreed Saturday to conduct another round of trade talks in the coming week, as the world's two biggest economies seek to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle.
Chinese state media reported that Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had "candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges" during a Saturday morning call, and that both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade talks "as soon as possible".
Fresh data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed mixed signals for September, with robust industrial output offset by softer retail sales. There was also a slight fall in the unemployment rate, meanwhile.
Gross domestic product grew 4.8% in the third quarter of the year, easing from 5.2% in the second.
Additionally, China's central bank left its key lending rates unchanged, as expected, following the latest meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The People's Bank of China kept its one-year loan prime rate steady at 3.0% and the five-year rate at 3.5%, in line with the consensus forecast cited by FXStreet.
In the UK, recruiters reported an increase in job postings last month, signalling continued resilience in the labour market.
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation said the number of new job adverts in September rose to 742,967, up more than 11% from August.
Demand for postal workers, messengers, couriers, and education leaders increased, while postings for registered specialist nurses and midwives declined.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3437 early Monday, higher than USD1.3398 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro stood at USD1.1672, higher compared to USD1.1664. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY150.60, higher compared to JPY150.31.
Gold was quoted at USD4,270.10 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD4,242.28 on Friday. Brent oil was trading at USD60.94 a barrel early Monday, up from USD60.03.
In Monday's corporate calendar, there are trading statements from City of London Investment Group and full-year results from Seraphim Space Investment Trust.
In the economic calendar, Germany's producer price index is released at 0700 BST.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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