London stocks are expected to open slightly higher on Monday, with trading volumes likely subdued as financial markets remain closed in China, Canada and the US.
Futures indicate the FTSE 100 will rise 15.1 points, or 0.1%, at the open. The index ended Friday up 43.91 points, or 0.4%, at 10,446.35.
Sterling strengthened modestly, trading at USD1.3645 early Monday compared with USD1.3626 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro was steady at USD1.1868, while the dollar edged higher against the yen to JPY153.13 from JPY152.88.
On Wall Street Friday, markets closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%, the S&P 500 also rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2%.
In Asia on Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.6% before markets closed at midday for the Spring Festival holiday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.2% higher.
Economic data from Japan showed the economy returned to growth in the final quarter of 2025, though the recovery fell short of expectations. Preliminary figures indicated GDP expanded 0.1% in Q4, rebounding from a revised 0.7% contraction but below forecasts for 0.4% growth.
In commodities, gold eased to USD4,999.14 an ounce from USD5,016.78 on Friday. Silver and copper have also edged lower since the end of last week, though both metals appear to have stabilised, levelling off rather than staging a sharp rebound.
There are no major UK corporate releases scheduled on Monday. In the economic calendar, eurozone industrial production data is expected later in the day.
