30th May 2025 06:50
(Alliance News) - London stocks are set to open higher on Friday, as a US court allows tariffs to continue temporarily during the president's appeal process.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 25.5 points, 0.3% at 8,741.95 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed down 9.56 points, 0.1%, at 8,716.45 on Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3472 early Friday, lower than USD1.3488 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro traded at USD1.1345 early Friday, down from USD1.1363 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JPY143.89 versus JPY144.22.
A US federal appeals court has issued a temporary stay of a court ruling that would have blocked many of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, to allow the appeals process to continue.
The order from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, known as an administrative stay, means for the time being, the tariffs remain in effect and will not be blocked after 10 days as ordered by the lower court.
This follows the White House blasting the decision to block many of Trump's sweeping tariffs. The White House called this ruling "blatantly wrong" on social media, expressing confidence that the decision would be overturned on appeal.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve could be in a position to cut rates if President Donald Trump's tariffs are reduced, a senior US central bank official said.
Speaking in Michigan on Thursday, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said that, if the tariffs imposed by the White House on April 2 were removed, the Fed could find itself in a strong economic situation, with a low unemployment rate and falling inflation.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted flat at 4.43%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.92%, easing slightly from 4.93%.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended in the green, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 0.4% higher and the Nasdaq Composite also up 0.4%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo faded 1.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong lost 1.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.3%.
Gold was quoted at USD3,299.74 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD3,316.41 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD63.15 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD63.41 late Thursday.
The governor of the Bank of England has welcomed the UK government's efforts to forge closer ties with the EU, as he said that officials should work to "minimise" the effects of Brexit on trade.
Speaking in Dublin on Thursday, Andrew Bailey said in relation to Brexit "that we should do all we can to minimise negative effects on trade".
With reference to the Windsor Framework, which he described as a "welcome step forward", Bailey said: "So too are the initiatives of the current UK government to rebuild trade between the UK and EU."
The Windsor Framework, agreed between the UK and the EU in 2023, amended the Northern Ireland Protocol and governs post-Brexit trading arrangements in the region.
Business confidence in Scotland rose to higher than the UK national average in May, at 52%. Overall UK business confidence rose 11 points in May to 50% – the highest level in nine months. Confidence in Scotland rose 12 points during May to 52%, according to the Bank of Scotland's business barometer, compared to 40% in April.
While companies in Scotland reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down four points at 57%, optimism in the economy rose 29 points to 48%, which analysts said "gives a headline confidence reading of 52%".
In the economic calendar on Friday, a US core personal consumption expenditures index reading at 1330 BST. Core PCE is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflationary gauge. The US data follows a German consumer price index reading at 1300 BST.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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