24th Aug 2026 06:56
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open essentially flat on Monday, in light of the US' latest wave of economic sanctions against Iran, and ahead of a busy week for global earnings including half-year results from Nvidia.
Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya said that "with strong Q2 earnings already baked into prices, AI financing worries and political/geopolitical headlines are gently taking control of market action.
"Trade tensions are back in the headlines this morning following the US and Canada's failure to reach a trade agreement, tensions in the Middle East continue to disrupt oil flows, and debt levels across the so-called developed world keep rising, with the US' USD40 trillion debt now sitting like an elephant in the room."
She added: "[Nvidia's] Q2 revenue is expected near USD92bn, up roughly 97% year-on-year, while whisper estimates reach USD93–95bn. But stellar results may not guarantee a positive reaction given the souring sentiment around AI heavyweights recently."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 1.2 points on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 68.40 points, 0.6%, at 10,816.56 on Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3640 early Monday, higher than USD1.3625 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling rose to EUR1.1676 from EUR1.1672 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1676 early Monday, higher than USD1.1673 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JPY158.97 versus JPY159.03.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.0%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.4%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 2.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.5%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,632.27 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD4,605.34 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD93.03 a barrel early Monday, lower than USD94.08 late Friday.
In Monday's corporate and economic calendars, no significant events are expected.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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