19th Aug 2025 06:55
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Tuesday, following US President Donald Trump's claim that he is setting up a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Meanwhile, Zelensky told journalists outside the White House: "I confirmed – and all European leaders supported me – that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin."
"Investor focus was firmly anchored on political developments after [Trump] convened a meeting with Zelensky and several European leaders, following his prior engagement with [Putin] in Alaska," Pepperstone's Ahmad Assiri commented. "While no clear breakthrough was announced, the mere act of dialogue suggested Washington is at least exploring a channel toward de-escalation and the prospect of a negotiated settlement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict."
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 11.8 points, 0.1%, on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.2% higher at 9,157.74 on Monday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3500 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.3517 at the London equities close on Monday.
The euro traded at USD1.1659 early Tuesday, slightly lower than USD1.1667 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY147.66 versus JPY146.96.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.65 points and the Nasdaq Composite up 6.80 points.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was marginally higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.8%.
Gold was quoted at USD3,338.05 an ounce early Tuesday, higher than USD3,334.83 on Monday.
Brent oil was trading at USD66.02 a barrel early Tuesday, slightly lower than USD66.07 late Monday.
In Tuesday's corporate calendar, there are first-quarter results from Medtronic.
In the economic calendar on Tuesday, from the UK look out for grocery market share data to be published by Worldpanel. Also, the eurozone has a current account report.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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