17th Aug 2026 08:55
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Europe opened mixed on Monday, while Asian equities kicked off the week in a largely stronger fashion on the dwindling prospect of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month.
"Looking at the US data calendar this week, it is hard to see much changing. The highlight could be Wednesday evening's release of the minutes of the 29 July FOMC meeting. This was the meeting that saw a 9-3 vote for unchanged rates and a confusing press conference, which saw longer-dated Treasuries sell off. Given that we've seen slightly cooler activity data since that meeting, we think it will be hard for the market to switch back to a fully hawkish mindset if there are a few sentences in the minutes pointing to a closer call on the unchanged rates decision than most think," analysts at ING commented.
"Global risk markets are enjoying the fact that the Fed can leave rates unchanged a little longer."
The FTSE 100 index opened up 27.19 points, 0.3%, at 10,777.30. The FTSE 250 edged down just 11.60 points at 24,855.82. The AIM all-share was up 2.95 points, 0.4%, at 803.87.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 1,071.55, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% higher at 21,623.93, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.1% at 19,085.30.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were flat.
For the FTSE 100, it was the mining sector that propped up the index.
Glencore added 2.3%, Antofagasta rose 2.1% and Anglo American added 1.9%. Antofagasta had suffered steep share price falls of 6.8% and 4.6% on Thursday and Friday, after it cut annual output guidance.
Wealth Club analyst Susannah Streeter commented: "The dollar has slipped back against a basket of currencies, which have helped give a leg up to metals given they are priced in the currency. The commodity boost is giving the FTSE 100 some useful momentum, even as investors keep their eyes on the inflationary risks from the Middle East crisis.
"Copper prices in particular are rising higher on expectations of constrained supply and resilient demand, given how sought after the metal is across multiple sectors from electrification to AI. The build-out of data centres is adding to the appetite for copper, but so are power grids, electric vehicles and the wider energy transition."
Sterling traded at USD1.3567 on Monday, up from USD1.3550 late Friday. Against the euro, it faded to EUR1.1682 from EUR1.1698. The euro rose to USD1.1608 from USD1.1583. Against the yen, the dollar faded to JPY158.88 from JPY159.12.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury eased to 4.67% from 4.69%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 5.24% from 5.27%.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2%, the S&P 500 down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%.
In New York this week, eyes will be on Walmart and Home Depot as the retailers release quarterly earnings.
Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented: "I expect to see soft results for many retailers, and a strong quarter for those offering low prices – like Walmart – but the latter will probably not change the fact that the biggest earners in the S&P 500 earned big despite the potentially weakening consumer leg of the economy. On the contrary, results pointing to weaker domestic consumption could further tame inflation worries, help ease Fed hike bets and hence put downward pressure on US yields. That would be a positive development for the major US indices, heavy in technology."
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 ended 0.7% higher on Monday. The Shanghai Composite shot up 1.4%. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong surged 1.5%. In Sydney, however, the S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.5%.
In London, Time Finance shot up 10%, and was among the best performing AIM stocks. It has agreed to a GBP55.1 million takeover from Bentley Park, the parent of asset-based lender Ultimate Finance.
Bentley Park will pay 59.1 pence in cash per share in Time Finance, an asset, loan and invoice finance provider for small and medium enterprises. The price is a 13% premium to Time Finance's 52.50p closing price on Friday.
"Bentley Park's interest in the acquisition is driven by the opportunity to create a further scaled, multi-product UK SME lending platform combining two businesses with complementary capabilities and geographic footprints," according to a statement.
"Bentley Park believes that the combined Ultimate Finance and Time Finance business would be well-positioned as a significant independent alternative lender with a combined net loan book size of nearly GBP650 million."
Bentley Park has received the backing from shareholders holding roughly 47% of Time Finance.
Time Finance CEO Ed Rimmer said: "The Time Finance board has spent a great deal of time considering the offer from Ultimate Finance. Over the course of our discussions with the Ultimate Finance team, it became clear very early on that they genuinely respect what the Time Finance teams have built and that we share a lot of mutual ambitions for the continued growth of the business going forward."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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