24th Feb 2025 07:01
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open less than 0.1% higher on Monday, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to join world leaders in a call hosted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and make the case for safeguards to protect the country's sovereignty.
Starmer reiterated Britain's "ironclad" backing for Kyiv in a series of conversations with allies over the weekend, ahead of the call marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion as the UK announces toughened measures against the Kremlin.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 2.1 points on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 3.60 points at 8,659.37 on Friday.
In other UK news, the UK government will provide an extra GBP200 million of funding for Grangemouth as the oil refinery in the area is set to close. Starmer said the extra cash from the National Wealth Fund would be an "investment in Scotland's industrial future".
Also, the UK "net zero" sector has grown by 10% in the past year, adding GBP83 billion to the economy and boosting regional growth, a report suggests.
The study commissioned by think tank the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, with analysis from CBI Economics and the Data City, also found employment in green industries and businesses had grown 10% in the past year. It suggests that the UK net zero economy is a significant driver of growth, innovation and productivity.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2664 early Monday, higher than USD1.2641 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro traded at USD1.0507 early Monday, higher than USD1.0450 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted flat at JPY149.45.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.7%, the S&P 500 down 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.2%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was also down 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.
Gold was quoted at USD2,937.53 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD2,935.51 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD74.36 a barrel early Monday, lower than USD74.89 late Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, ME Group International releases full-year results.
The economic calendar on Monday includes eurozone consumer price inflation, and comments from Swati Dhingra, an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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