(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday, following a surprise defeat for the far right in France.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 13.7 points, 0.2%, at 8,217.63 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed down 37.33 points, or 0.5%, at 8,203.93 on Friday.
In France, the left-wing New Popular Front said it has a mandate to govern after it pulled off a surprise win in the second round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday, with the far right falling to third place, according to initial projections.
The NFP, a new alliance that has brought together Jean-Luc Melenchon's hard-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the Ecologists and several smaller left-leaning groups, is projected to gain 177 to 198 of the 577 seats in the lower house, or National Assembly.
Melenchon called on Prime Minister Gabriel Attal from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist camp to go, and not long after his wish seemed to be fulfilled when Attal said he would tender his resignation to Macron on Monday morning.
But the arithmetic is not on the NFP's side, or indeed on any camp's: Macron's centrist alliance came second and is projected to win 152 to 169 seats, down from 245; the far-right National Rally party, which came out on top after the first round, fell to third place, and is expected to take 135 to 145 seats.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2808 early Monday, virtually unchanged than USD1.2806 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro traded at USD1.0822 early Monday, lower than USD1.0828 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY160.63, lower versus JPY161.70.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.9%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.7%.
Gold was quoted at USD2,383.40 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD2,385.01 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD86.35 a barrel early Monday, lower than USD87.85 late Friday.
Monday's economic calendar has a German trade balance reading at 0700 BST.
The UK corporate calendar has annual results from legal and professional services firm Knights Group Holdings. Student accommodation provider Unite Group issues a trading statement.
By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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