27th Jul 2026 06:54
(Alliance News) - European stocks are set to open higher on Monday, with the FTSE 100's advance expected to be slightly more tempered, after Iran and the US held their fire Sunday.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 27.2 points higher, 0.3% at 10,763.43 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 97.06 points, 0.9%, at 10,736.23 on Friday.
The CAC 40 in Paris is called 0.7% higher and Frankfurt's DAX 40 1.1% higher.
The Brent price was lower, declining to USD92.03 a barrel early Monday from USD95.49 at the time of the London equities close on Friday, which could hit shares in Shell and BP at the open.
Iran said it had halted retaliatory attacks against Washington's allies in the Middle East, and US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told "Fox News Sunday" that, while forces remained "locked and loaded", Trump would give negotiations "a little bit of room".
"For the first time in nearly two weeks, the American bombers stayed on the ground," SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented.
"The diplomatic target is probably narrower than the headlines make it sound. Nobody needs a grand reconciliation between Washington and Tehran to knock a few dollars out of Brent. The market needs tankers moving through Hormuz, insurers prepared to cover the voyages and shipowners convinced that any reopening will survive longer than the press conference. That is where the next move in oil will be decided."
Against the dollar, sterling rose to USD1.3352 on Monday morning from USD1.3342 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. Versus the euro, it eased to EUR1.1704 from EUR1.1717.
Against the dollar, the euro climbed to USD1.1405 from USD1.1385. The dollar fell to JPY163.56 against the yen from JPY163.70.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury cooled to 4.63% on Monday from 4.66% at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The 30-year yield eased to 5.12% from 5.14%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.2% in late trade. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.8% higher. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.3%.
Gold traded at USD4,088.42 an ounce on Monday, rising from USD4,078.09 late Friday.
Serica Energy said it has agreed terms to acquire Pharos Energy in a deal which values the latter at around GBP146 million.
Serica will pay roughly 28.67 pence in cash per share in Pharos. Including a 4.0p per share special dividend to be paid through the existing cash resources at Pharos, the deal is worth some 32.67p per share, valuing the firm's entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital at GBP145.7 million.
"The acquisition of Pharos is a compelling opportunity to deliver a first step in our long-standing strategic objective of adding to the diversification of our business through international expansion, on terms that are accretive on a per share basis across all key metrics, with multiple embedded growth options. Upon completion the transaction will boost our reserves, resources and add materially cash-generative production, while at the same time delivering an attractive liquidity route for Pharos shareholders," Serica Chief Executive Officer Chris Cox said.
Monday's economic calendar has the Ifo business climate in Germany and durable goods orders data in the US.
Later in the week, interest decisions are due in the US, UK and Japan, plus inflation prints in Australia and the eurozone.
On Monday's UK corporate calendar, drugs maker AstraZeneca reports half-year results, while telecoms firm Vodafone delivers a trading update.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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Serica EnergyPharos Energy