27th Oct 2025 07:00
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday amid rising hopes of a trade deal between the US and China.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 19.1 points, 0.2% at 9,664.72 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 67.05 points, 0.7%, at 9,645.62, at a new record close and all-time best level on Friday.
Sterling was at USD1.3328, up from USD1.3301 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro traded at USD1.1629, down slightly from USD1.1631 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JPY152.96 versus JPY152.79.
Advertised job vacancies in the UK fell last month as employers continued to cut back on recruitment and wait for next month's Budget, according to a new report.
Jobs site Adzuna said the total number of advertised vacancies dropped by 2.4% in September compared to August to 826,205.
Adverts for jobs are now 4.1% lower than a year ago, with September recording the lowest vacancy level this year, said Adzuna.
Its report said employers were continuing to scale back hiring plans after a strong start to the year, pausing recruitment activity as they await November's Budget.
There are now more than two jobseekers for every vacancy, the highest ratio since early 2024, said Adzuna.
Warehouse worker retained its position as the UK's most searched-for role in September, followed by healthcare assistant and cleaner.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.04% on Monday from 4.00% on Friday. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.63%, extended from 4.58% on Friday.
The US and China have agreed a framework for a trade deal before US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet.
On a trip to South Korea, Trump will meet China's President Xi Jinping for the first time since returning to office.
"I think we're going to make a deal," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded two days of meetings.
Bessent said the talks, seeking an agreement to avoid further 100% tariffs due to come into effect on November 1, "set the stage for the leaders' meeting in a very positive framework".
Li Chenggang, China's vice minister of commerce, told reporters a "preliminary consensus" had been reached.
Over the weekend, Trump said he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff television advert aired by the province of Ontario.
Back in the UK, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has declined to rule out raising income tax at next month's government budget, according to reports.
Bosses of the UK's biggest supermarkets are urging the chancellor to exempt shops from a new business rates surtax, warning that shoppers will bear the brunt of higher costs.
A letter, organised by industry group the British Retail Consortium, and addressed to Rachel Reeves, argues that limiting the tax burden on grocers would help tackle food inflation.
Meanwhile, Reeves is leading a UK delegation to Saudi Arabia as she searches for economic growth with less than a month to go before a potentially difficult Budget.
The UK chancellor will use the visit to Riyadh to try to make progress on a trade deal with the Gulf Co-operation Council, GCC.
Reeves, the first chancellor to visit the Gulf in six years, will attend the Future Investment Initiative, FII, and meet senior Saudi royals, US administration figures and global business chiefs.
A series of announcements on investment between the UK and Saudi Arabia are expected over the coming days.
The chancellor said: "Our number one priority is growth, so I am taking Britain's offer of stability, regulatory agility and world-class expertise directly to one of the world's most important trade and investment hubs, making that case in our national interest."
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.0%, the S&P 500 gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.2% higher.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 2.5%, the Shanghai Composite in China gained 1.1%, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong advanced 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed 0.4% higher.
Gold was lower at USD4,079.10 an ounce early on Monday from USD4,125.47 late Friday. Brent oil was trading lower at USD65.40 a barrel from USD66.56.
Monday's global economic diary has US durable goods orders data. Later in the week central bank meetings take place in the US, Canada, Japan and Europe.
Monday's UK corporate calendar has a trading statement from Greatland Resources.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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