29th Sep 2025 07:00
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday, amid the possibility of easing tensions in the Middle East, after US President Donald Trump hinted at a solution to the Gaza crisis.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 0.4% higher at 9,322.73 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.8% at 9,284.83 on Friday.
The dollar was lower early Monday.
Sterling was at USD1.3438, up from USD1.3399 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro traded at USD1.1724, up from USD1.1692 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JPY148.82 versus JPY149.51.
US Treasury prices were higher. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury narrowed to 4.16% from 4.18% on Friday. The yield on the 30-year slimmed to 4.73% from 4.75%.
President Trump hinted at a breakthrough in the Middle East crisis, saying "all are on board for something special," ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House on Monday.
Trump's plan, a diplomatic source told AFP, envisions a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a major influx of humanitarian aid.
Elsewhere, Revolut is weighing a dual listing in New York and London that could value the fintech at USD75 billion, the Sunday Times reported.
A senior City source said the plan is being "widely discussed," with the move potentially making the neobank the first firm to list in both markets simultaneously and fast-track it into the FTSE 100 among its 15 largest members.
Investors also are focused on the risk of a shutdown of the US government on Wednesday.
If Congress fails to strike a funding deal, stocks could be put under pressure by the uncertainty.
Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said: "Still, a last-minute deal is more likely than not, and shutdown scares have usually ended up as non-events. Even in the rare cases they caused market disruption, the dips proved attractive to buy – after all, the US government can’t stay shut forever."
Wall Street ended higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7%, the S&P 500 0.6% higher and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.9% higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed 1.9%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was 0.8% higher.
Gold was higher at USD3,812.50 an ounce early on Monday from USD3.775.97 late Friday. Brent oil was trading higher at USD68.79 a barrel from USD70.64.
"The precious metals rally is not just a short-term allocation story – trend-followers are in control, and the trend is strongly positive," said Ozkardeskaya.
Monday's global economic calendar has UK mortgage approvals figures, US pending home sales numbers and Spanish CPI data.
The corporate calendar sees third-quarter results from cruise operator Carnival.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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