20th Oct 2026 06:54
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Tuesday, ahead of UK unemployment data, as investors keep one eye on unrest in France.
Over in New York, however, tech shares recovered some ground after being sold off on Friday. Eyes now turn to earnings, with Netflix, Tesla and Meta Platforms among those reporting this week.
"The week started in a bad mood in Europe, as French protests dominated the headlines and bond-market stress continued to spread to other countries, including Italy and Portugal. Yields on several European government bonds rose, while spreads over German Bunds widened, reflecting that stress," Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented.
"France will remain the focal point, of course, with short-term measures aimed at calming nerves on the streets, but investors may be reluctant to return to French bonds as fiscal and political risks loom. Note that even if the current government comes up with a budget, next year's presidential election could undo whatever is decided today. This situation could keep investors nervous at least until next year's election, with voting scheduled for 18 April and 2 May."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 47.0 points lower, 0.4%, at 10,717.69 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps ended down 117.21 points, 1.1%, at 10,764.69 on Monday.
Tuesday's economic events calendar has a UK unemployment reading at 0700 BST. The jobless rate is expected to have stayed at 4.9% in the three months to August, according to consensus cited by FXStreet, where it stood in the three-month stretch to July.
Ahead of the data, sterling rose to USD1.3334 on Tuesday morning, from USD1.3316 at the time of the London equities close on Monday. Versus the euro, it fell slightly to EUR1.1864 from EUR1.1869, but did hit its best level since early-June 2025 on Monday.
The pound had declined against the dollar on Monday, meanwhile.
"Sterling's recovery is encountering resistance after GBPUSD's two-session winning streak came to an end yesterday, October 19. Although recent UK economic data have provided additional support for the pair, the US dollar's recovery has prevented buyers from maintaining the upper hand. This suggests that GBPUSD needs further momentum to extend its gains, with attention turning to this week's UK labour market and inflation reports," XS.com analyst Linh Tran commented.
"I lean towards a continued but uneven recovery in GBPUSD, with the UK labour market report on October 20 and CPI release on October 21 being the next two key events to watch. If employment remains stable while wage growth and services inflation stay elevated, expectations of a BoE rate hike would gain further support, helping the pair. Conversely, if the labour market weakens significantly and price pressures ease rapidly, the recovery could lose momentum. At this stage, I see limited scope for a strong, sustained rise in GBPUSD while the US interest rate outlook remains a significant headwind."
The euro recovered some lost ground on the dollar, rising to USD1.1234 from USD1.1221 late Monday afternoon. Against the yen, the buck fell to JPY158.20 from JPY158.43.
France announced partial curfews on Monday as protesters blocked the entrance to the Louvre in Paris and authorities scrambled to stem discontent over living costs, after weekend demonstrations spilled into some of the worst street violence in recent years.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu did not rule out imposing a state of emergency after the interior minister said police "had lost control" during the unrest, which flared six months before France elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.
With organisers calling for a new round of protests next Saturday, Lecornu's office said partial curfews would be enforced from 2000 to 0600 CEST, 1800 to 0400 GMT, on Monday and Tuesday in four northern cities, including Lille, to protect businesses.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.12% early Tuesday, narrowing from 5.13% on Monday afternoon. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.46%, narrowing from 5.47%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% on Monday, while the S&P 500 added 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.1%.
But in Tokyo on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.5% lower and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index shed 1.2%. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%.
In Sydney, BHP shares fell 1.6%. The miner reported first-quarter production figures and reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
Total copper production declined 19% year-on-year to 400,700 tonnes in the three months ended September 30, while iron ore production increased 3.7% to 66.5 million tonnes.
"Copper production was lower in the first quarter, reflecting planned grade declines and scheduled maintenance, alongside temporary disruptions from severe weather in Chile, stops for safety and the conveyor failure at Carrapateena," commented Chief Executive Officer Brandon Craig.
Gold was quoted at USD4,132.36 an ounce, down from USD4,144.06 at the time of the closing bell on the London Stock Exchange on Monday. Brent oil was quoted at USD109.96 a barrel, up from USD108.29.
US President Donald Trump indicated Monday he is ready to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping in China next month, saying any summit would focus on denuclearisation but could also include the Ukraine war.
Trump also renewed his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – whose country has been fighting off a Russian invasion since 2022 – saying it was "time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine."
The Kremlin said earlier that the Russian, Chinese and US leaders could meet at an Asia-Pacific summit in Shenzhen next month, following a Wall Street Journal report that Putin wanted the three-way talks to broker a peace deal favourable to Moscow.
"I would do it, not so much for Ukraine, because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," Trump told reporters when asked if he would attend a meeting with Putin and Xi to discuss Ukraine.
"We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearisation."
Tuesday's local corporate calendar has trading statements from miner Anglo American and distribution and outsourcing company Bunzl.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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