31st Mar 2026 06:58
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly higher on Tuesday, after the British Retail Consortium reported that UK shop price inflation ticked up in March, and US President Donald Trump's latest comment on the Iran war.
"Higher costs resulting from the conflict in the Middle East are starting to feed into supply chains," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson cautioned. According to the BRC's shop price monitor, prices rose 1.2% on-year in March, against the 1.1% rate posted in February.
Meanwhile, Trump threatened widespread destruction of Iran's energy resources and other vital infrastructure, including desalination plants, if a deal to end the war with Tehran is not reached "shortly".
Trump said the US is negotiating with Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, in an interview with the New York Post published on Monday.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority on Monday confirmed it will proceed with an industry-wide motor finance redress scheme, aiming to compensate millions of customers who were treated unfairly by lenders.
Firms implicated in the scandal are expected to pay out around GBP7.5 billion in compensation, with total costs including administration estimated at GBP9.1 billion. This is lower than earlier projections of up to GBP11 billion.
Among those lenders affected, Lloyds Banking Group PLC, which owns the UK’s largest motor finance lender Black Horse, had previously raised its provisions for exposure to the scheme to GBP2.0 billion from GBP1.2 billion.
Close Brothers Group PLC, another affected lender, said following the FCA's announcement that it is assessing the potential implications of the redress scheme and will update the market as appropriate.
Other institutions with exposure include Barclays PLC, Bank of Ireland Group PLC and Banco Santander SA.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 3.5 points at 10,131.46 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 1.6% at 10,127.96 on Monday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3199 early Tuesday, higher than USD1.3191 at the London equities close on Monday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1513 from EUR1.1518 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1466 early Tuesday, higher than USD1.1452 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY159.60 versus JPY159.53.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Japan on Tuesday for a visit that initially aimed to strenghthen partnerships in nuclear energy and space innovation but will now be dominated by the Middle East war.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.7%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 1.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down marginally, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.3%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,580.19 an ounce early Tuesday, higher than USD4,541.34 on Monday.
Brent oil was trading at USD106.98 a barrel early Tuesday, lower than USD112.46 late Monday.
In Tuesday's corporate calendar, several firms, including Raspberry Pi and AG Barr, release full-year results. There are also half-year results from James Halstead and others.
In the economic calendar on Tuesday, as well as UK GDP and business investment, look out for German retail sales and French inflation data.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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