(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Friday, after a cordial meeting between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Topics like US tariffs on the EU and the prospect of a trade deal reportedly barely came up during the leaders' meeting.
Trump did comment on the war in Ukraine with Russia to suggest letting the two sides fight it out, comparing the war that has left thousands dead and swathes of Ukraine in ruins to a children's brawl.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 9.4 points, 0.1%, on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed up 0.1% at 8,811.04 on Thursday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3563 early Friday, lower than USD1.3596 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro traded at USD1.1433 early Friday, lower than USD1.1456 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY143.93 versus JPY143.57.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%, the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.8%.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was marginally higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.1%.
Gold was quoted at USD3,362.74 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD3,364.84 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD65.02 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD65.51 late Thursday.
In Friday's corporate calendar, Bango releases full-year results.
The economic calendar on Friday features the eurozone's GDP reading and the US's nonfarm payrolls data.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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