16th Feb 2026 07:00
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday, with financial markets closed in China, Canada and the US.
However, Washington's Birthday this year coincides with a partial US Department of Homeland Security shutdown as US lawmakers fight over funding the agency overseeing much of Trump's immigration crackdown.
More positively, Switzerland said Oman would host talks between the US and Iran in Geneva this week, with Washington pushing Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear programme.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 15.1 points, 0.1%, on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 43.91 points, 0.4%, at 10,446.35 on Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3645 early Monday, higher than USD1.3626 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro traded flat at USD1.1868. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY153.13 versus JPY152.88.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.2%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 0.6% at noon on Monday for Spring Festival. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
Japan's economy edged back into growth in the final quarter of 2025 but missed market expectations. Preliminary estimates from the Japanese Cabinet Office indicated that gross domestic product rose 0.1% in the fourth quarter, improving from a downwardly revised 0.7% contraction but below the FXStreet‑cited consensus of 0.4% growth.
Gold was quoted at USD4,999.14 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD5,016.78 on Friday.
Swissquote's Ipek Ozkareskaya commented: "Part of it is due to a marginally stronger US dollar; some argue that softer US inflation is taking pressure off the yellow metal – traditionally seen as a hedge against inflation – but I believe that, given gold's high correlation with risky assets over the past few weeks, a retreat in gold could be a sign that appetite across risk assets remains weak this Monday morning."
Brent oil was trading at USD67.76 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD67.48 late Friday.
In Monday's corporate calendar, no significant UK events are scheduled. Globally, Sartorius reports full-year results.
In the economic calendar on Monday, the eurozone has industrial production data.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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