19th Feb 2026 07:00
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Thursday, ahead of jobless and other data releases from the US.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 25.0 points, 0.2%, on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed up 1.2% at 10,686.18 on Wednesday.
Rio Tinto on Thursday said profit declined in 2025 despite higher revenue, as rising operating and finance costs weighed on performance.
The London and Melbourne, Australia-based diversified miner said pretax profit fell 6.7% to USD14.57 billion in the year ended December 31 from USD15.62 billion in the previous year.
Diluted earnings per share declined 14% to 608.4 US cents from 707.2 cents.
The company lifted its final dividend for the year by 13% to 254 cents per share from 225 cents, leaving full-year dividend unchanged at 402 cents per share.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3500 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3548 at the London equities close on Wednesday.
The euro traded at USD1.1799 early Thursday, lower than USD1.1813 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY155.04 versus JPY154.38.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 129.47 points, 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.
Policymakers at the US central bank held mixed views on the impact of artificial intelligence, minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting revealed.
In January, the Federal Reserve decided to leave the federal funds rate target range at 3.50% to 3.75%. Ten of the 12 Federal Open Market Committee members supported the decision, with detractors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller advocating a 25 basis point cut.
The minutes said: "In their consideration of monetary policy at this meeting, participants noted that inflation had remained somewhat elevated and that available indicators suggested that economic activity had been expanding at a solid pace...Moreover, in light of the strong pace of AI-related investment as well as the higher productivity growth of recent years, several participants judged that ongoing gains in productivity would be supportive of economic growth.
"Some participants discussed potential vulnerabilities associated with recent developments in the AI sector, including elevated equity market valuations, high concentration of market values and activities in a small number of firms, and increased debt financing," they added.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.6%. Markets in Hong Kong and China are closed for the Lunar New Year. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.9%.
Gold was quoted at USD5,018.53 an ounce early Thursday, higher than USD5,002.90 on Wednesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD70.42 a barrel early Thursday, higher than USD69.62 late Wednesday.
In Thursday's corporate calendar, Centrica and Mondi release full-year results.
In the economic calendar on Thursday, look out for eurozone consumer confidence and US jobless claims.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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