4th Dec 2025 06:56
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Thursday, ahead of a swathe of construction PMI readings and initial jobless claims data in the US.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 0.3% at 9,723.27 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed down just 9.73 points, 0.1%, at 9,692.07 on Wednesday.
Sterling was at USD1.3336 on Thursday morning, down from USD1.3342 at the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro was lower at USD1.1656 from USD1.1664. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JPY155.34 versus JPY155.02.
President Trump said he believes Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war despite inconclusive talks in Moscow, as US officials prepared for a follow-up meeting with Kyiv's top negotiator.
"I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin," Trump said when an AFP reporter asked him about the talks, adding afterwards that the talks were "very good."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed plans for new talks between Ukrainian and US officials. Negotiations will be led by National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of Staff Andrii Hnatov.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron met Xi Jinping in Beijing where he was expected to put pressure on the Chinese leader to help secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, as well as discuss trade relations.
Macron told Xi that France and China must overcome their "differences", and that China has 'decisive capacity' to influence Ukraine ceasefire.
Xi, on the other hand, said China was willing to work with France "to exclude any interference" and "make the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France more stable.”
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.9%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was unchanged at 4.08% on Thursday morning. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.74% slightly slimmed from 4.75%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 2.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.1% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.3%.
Vodacom Group said it has agreed to acquire an additional 20% stake in Safaricom for USD2.1 billion, or ZAR36.0 billion.
The Midrand-based telecommunications firm will buy a 15% shareholding in Safaricom from the government of Kenya and a 5% interest from Vodafone International Holdings, raising its ownership to 55%. Vodafone International Holdings is a 100% subsidiary of UK-based Vodafone Group.
Following the transaction, which will be funded through new term loan facilities, the Kenyan government will own 20% in Nairobi-based Safaricom, while public investors via the Nairobi Securities Exchange will hold the remaining 25% in the listed company.
Gold was down at USD4,187.50 an ounce early on Thursday from USD4,222.94 late Wednesday. Brent oil was trading slightly lower at USD63.02 a barrel from USD63.04.
Thursday's economic calendar has eurozone retail sales, a slew of construction PMI readings, and initial jobless claims data in the US.
Thursday's UK corporate calendar has full-year results from trading platform AJ Bell, half-year results from online classifieds group Baltic Classifieds, and a trading update from infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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