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Prices delayed by at least 15 minutes
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to gain at the open on Monday at the start of what will be a busy week.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 20 points higher.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "September has already thrown up some big surprises for financial markets. The non-farm payrolls report at the end of last week saw a 22k increase in payrolls for last month, well below expectations. This ignited fears about the outlook for the US economy.
"It triggered a rally in government bonds, particularly at the short end of the curve, and US and European stocks sold off at the end of last week. Futures are pointing to a mildly higher open for stock markets later today, the gold price is lower and the yen is weak across the G10 FX space after the Japanese PM resigned."
Investors will be turning their attention to France, where Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is expected to lose a confidence vote.
"This would mean that France will have four governments in a year, as politicians try to push through Budget cuts to get the public spending," said Brooks. "Last month, a French government minister said that the country may need an IMF bailout because its finances were so bad."
She added: "Overall, there is a lot resting on this vote, and the markets will be taking notice of the outcome, as highly indebted nations cannot hide anymore."
In UK corporate news, retirement savings and income business Phoenix Group said it was "firmly on track" to hit its medium-term targets after a strong first half, during which profits surged by a quarter.
The company also announced that it is to change its group name to Standard Life in March 2026, "helping with our objective to simplify our business".
Construction firm Vistry said it has formed a long-term investment joint venture with Homes England, Westminster's housing and regeneration agency, to accelerate the development of large-scale residential sites across England.
Vistry said the joint venture, named Hestia, was backed by £150m of capital investment by Homes England and Vistry and was designed to deliver "high-quality, mixed-tenure communities" at pace and scale.