17th Jun 2025 06:58
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Tuesday, as geopolitical tensions and particularly the escalating Israel-Iran conflict weigh on investor sentiment.
The Pentagon has announced that the US is sending "additional capabilities" to the Middle East, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing that the US is reinforcing its military presence in the Middle East to enhance its "defensive posture."
Meanwhile in the UK, S&W's business owners sentiment survey found that a third of UK business owners plan to cut more jobs to cover higher national insurance contributions. Also, a US-UK trade deal has been signed covering "car tariffs and aerospace" although an agreement regarding UK steel exports has not yet been finalised.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 47.7 points, 0.5%, on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.3% at 8,875.22 on Monday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3570 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.3594 at the London equities close on Monday.
The euro traded at USD1.1557 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.1591 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY144.69 versus JPY144.09.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.8%, the S&P 500 up 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.5%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.57 points, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.2%.
Gold was quoted at USD3,391.69 an ounce early Tuesday, lower than USD3,403.81 on Monday.
Brent oil was trading at USD73.71 a barrel early Tuesday, higher than USD72.79 late Monday.
In Tuesday's corporate calendar, Ashtead Group releases full-year results.
In the economic calendar on Tuesday, readings include US industrial production and the eurozone ZEW economic sentiment survey.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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