- September FTSE 100 futures rise 15 points
- Bitcoin gains 4.7% and reaches US$81,104
- Gold up around 14% during August
- ASX 200 advances 0.7% to 9,163
- Most major Asian indices trade higher
7.15 am: FTSE futures point to positive London opening
September FTSE 100 futures gained 15 points, or 0.14%, to 10,898.5, pointing to a modestly higher start for London.
The contract traded between 10,878.5 and 10,899.5, compared with Monday’s settlement of 10,883.5. The cash FTSE 100 closed Monday 37.76 points higher at 10,854.32.
Bitcoin provided the strongest overnight move, climbing 4.7% to around US$80,700 after reaching US$81,104 – its highest level since May. It has gained approximately 25% over the past week.
Gold eased 0.3% to around $4,640 an ounce but remained on course for its strongest monthly advance since September 1999, having gained approximately 14% during August. Copper slipped 0.2% to $6.59 per pound.
Australia outperformed, with the ASX 200 rising 0.7% to 9,163. WiseTech Global gained 4.1% to A$45.28 and BHP added 0.6% to A$67.51. Woodside Energy fell 0.9% to A$33.17.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.4% to around 65,800, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5% to approximately 6,730 and the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to 3,890. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.2% to around 25,468.
Wall Street finished mixed. The S&P 500 fell 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.76%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.26%. Nvidia dropped 2.91% ahead of its quarterly results on Wednesday.
Brent crude held near US$92.10 a barrel, down 0.1%, following the latest US sanctions against Iran.