8th May 2018 07:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening lower on Tuesday following Monday's UK bank holiday as Chinese exports recovered at a faster pace in April amid concerns the US will re-impose sanctions on Iran.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 45.80 points lower at 7578.80. The blue chip index closed up 0.9%, or 64.45 points, at 7,567.14 on Friday, ending the week 0.9% higher.
"Whilst Wall Street closed higher on the day, the real action was in the oil markets," said London Capital Group's Jasper Lawler.
"Oil extended gains from the European session into the start of the US session, easing back only after Trump announced a decision will be given [Tuesday] at 2pm EST over the Iranian nuclear pact."
Lawler added: "Oil has rallied hard on Venezuelan supply concerns and rising tensions between Iran and US. Repeated criticism from Trump over the US Iranian nuclear disarmament deal, has traders fearing that a withdrawal from Trump could see US sanctions being re-imposed on Iran."
"These sanctions would almost certainly include reductions to the country's oil exports, jolting the oil market and lifting the price of oil in recent sessions."
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended up, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.4% higher, S&P 500 up 0.4%, and Nasdaq Composite ending 0.8% up.
Crude oil prices reached a four-year high on Monday on the rising tensions between Iran and the US as President Donald Trump considers re-imposing sanctions on the country over its nuclear ambitions.
Oil was quoted at USD75.51 per barrel early on Tuesday.
The German and French foreign ministers on Monday in Berlin made a joint plea to Trump not to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
"We fear that a failure would lead to escalations and that we would regress to the times before 2013," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said at a meeting with his counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Maas said that the world was safer with the agreement than without it and that the European signatories to the deal had prepared good recommendations for their US partners.
A May 12 deadline is looming for the US president to decide whether to continue backing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran or reimpose sanctions on Tehran, which would mean scrapping the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA), as the deal is known officially.
The deal - sealed by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama with the support of China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain - eased sanctions on Tehran in exchange for commitments to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
Earlier Monday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson used an opinion piece in the to pressure Trump over the deal.
"At this delicate juncture, it would be a mistake to walk away from the nuclear agreement and remove the restraints that it places on Iran," Johnson wrote.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index is 0.1% higher early Tuesday. In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.3%.
China's exports recovered at a faster than expected pace in April and imports growth accelerated notably, data from General Administration of Customs revealed Tuesday.
Exports advanced 13% year-on-year in April, reversing a 2.7% drop in March. Economists had forecast an increase of 8%.
At the same time, imports growth accelerated to 21.5% from 14.4% in the previous month. Imports were expected to rise 16%.
Consequently, the trade surplus totalled USD28.8 billion in April, above the expected level of USD27.75 billion.
In yuan terms, shipments gained 3.7% and imports logged a faster growth of 12% in April.
In the UK corporate calendar on Tuesday there are trading statements from bookmaker William Hill and insurer Hiscox, full-year results from Horizon Discovery Group and Faron Pharmaceuticals, and first quarter figures from Verona Pharmaceuticals.
To come in the economic calendar on Tuesday, in the afternoon in the US the Redbook index is due at 1355 BST, with JOLTS job openings at 1500 BST.
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