Good morning. According to IG, futures point to a marginally lower open for the FTSE 100 on Tuesday, with the index expected to fall by 4.5 points to 10,136.90. London’s large-cap index closed up 0.2% at 10,140.70 on Monday.
In currency markets, sterling was quoted at $1.3466 early on Tuesday, slightly below the $1.3468 level recorded at the close of London trading the previous day. The euro eased to $1.1655 from $1.1677 late on Monday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened to ¥158.95, compared with ¥158.12 previously.
Oil prices moved higher, with Brent crude trading at $64.16 a barrel early Tuesday, up from $63.55 late on Monday. Ongoing turmoil in Iran and Venezuela remained in focus for energy markets.
On Wall Street, US equities ended Monday’s session modestly higher, as investors appeared to brush aside renewed concerns over Donald Trump’s threats to the independence of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, the S&P 500 added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%.
Asian markets were mostly higher on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 3.0%, while China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.5%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.6% higher.
Gold was quoted at $4,578.60 an ounce early on Tuesday, down from $4,621.38 on Monday, easing back after briefly touching a record high above the $4,600 level.
On the UK corporate calendar, trading updates are due from Grafton Group, Gym Group, Hunting, PageGroup, Persimmon and SIG, while Games Workshop Group is scheduled to publish interim results.
