(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly lower on Wednesday, while in Ireland the leader of frontrunning party Fianna Fail is poised to become the next taoiseach.
Micheal Martin's party has agreed to re-enter into a coalition with Fine Gael, led by outgoing Taoiseach Simon Harris.
Meanwhile US President Trump has told reporters the EU is "going to be in for tariffs", reiterated similar threats against China, Canada and Mexico, and refused to rule out military action to bring the Panama Canal and Greenland under US control.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 0.1 of a point on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed 0.3% higher at 8,548.29 on Tuesday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2332 early Wednesday, higher than USD1.2319 at the London equities close on Tuesday.
The euro traded at USD1.0409 early Wednesday, lower than USD1.0417 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted higher at JPY155.90 versus JPY155.43.
Pepperstone's Michael Brown noted suggestions that "the longer we go without a concrete tariff announcement, the lower the probability of a 'worst case scenario' universal tariff plan, at least in the minds of market participants.
"I'm rather reluctant to buy into that thesis though, in all honesty," he said, "as although tariffs are clearly a negotiating ploy, the Trump administration are set on going down this route.
"As a result, while participants play whack-a-mole with each incoming headline, I'd be inclined to be buying dollar dips, at least in the short-term, particularly with the US economy continuing to vastly outperform its DM peers too."
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.3%.
Gold was quoted at USD2,745.99 an ounce early Wednesday, higher than USD2,740.35 on Tuesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD78.33 a barrel early Wednesday, lower than USD79.51 late Tuesday.
In Wednesday's corporate calendar, Residential Secure Income releases full-year results and several firms - including easyJet, JD Wetherspoon and PensionBee - have trading updates.
In the economic calendar on Wednesday, the UK releases public sector net borrowing figures.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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