22nd Jun 2026 06:57
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly higher on Monday, following reported progress in the US and Iran's first round of talks in Switzerland.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 6.3 points, 0.1%, on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 36.43 points, 0.4%, at 10,363.27 on Friday.
"Encouraging progress has been made including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks," mediators Pakistan and Qatar said, detailing a contact channel set up to "avoid incidents and miscommunication" at the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer remains under pressure amid reports he could stand down, and the Office for National Statistics said that there was a reduced response rate for its labour force survey in May and early June due to an operational error.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3219 early Monday, lower than USD1.3227 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1529 from EUR1.1541 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1461 early Monday, lower than USD1.1469 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY161.65, higher versus JPY161.26.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street had ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.0%, the S&P 500 up 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.9%.
US financial markets were closed on Friday for Juneteenth.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.1%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,191.92 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD4,152.32 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD79.12 a barrel early Monday, lower than USD80.21 late on Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Babcock International and NextEnergy Solar Fund publish their full-year results.
In the economic calendar on Monday,
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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