3rd Feb 2026 06:55
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 set to marginally extend its gains from Monday's record finish.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 2.8 points higher at 10,344.36 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 118.02 points, 1.2%, at 10,341.56, a record close, on Monday.
Sterling was at USD1.3695 on Tuesday morning, up from USD1.3651 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro was higher at USD1.1815 from USD1.1804. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JPY155.36 versus JPY155.52.
President Donald Trump said the US will establish a USD12 billion strategic reserve of rare earth elements and other critical minerals, aiming to reduce reliance on China, which controls much of the refining of these metals.
The reserve, Trump said at the White House, is intended to prevent supply shortages for US companies.
Most of the funding, USD10 billion, will come from the US Export-Import Bank, and private investors will cover the remaining USD2 billion.
Under the plan, US companies would be able to purchase critical minerals from the reserve at pre-agreed prices, protecting them from global supply disruptions and price fluctuations.
The US January jobs report will not be released until the partial government shutdown is resolved, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
The report, due out Friday, will be "rescheduled upon the resumption of government funding."
On Monday, Trump urged the House of Representatives to quickly adopt a spending bill and end the current three-day stoppage.
The partial shutdown began Saturday after Democratic representatives made their support of a spending bill conditional on changes to US immigration enforcement.
Overnight, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate target by 25 basis points, citing inflation that is likely to "remain above target for some time".
The central bank raised the cash rate to 3.85% in its latest meeting from 3.6%, matching expectations cited by FXStreet.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.1%, the S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% higher.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 3.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 1.2% higher, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was 0.9% higher.
Gold was higher at USD4,885.40 an ounce early on Tuesday from USD4,696.11 late Monday.
Brent oil was trading slightly lower at USD65.94 a barrel from USD66.03 on Monday.
Tuesday's UK corporate calendar has half year results from Alumasc and Filtronic.
Tuesday's global economic calendar has Spanish unemployment data and Worldpanel grocery market share figures in the UK.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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