London pre-open: Stocks to nudge up amid progress in US-Iran talks; Starmer to quit

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to nudge up at the open on Monday following news of progress in peace talks between the US and Iran, although gains were expected to be muted amid reports that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was on the brink of resigning. The FTSE 100 was called to open around six points higher. Meanwhile, Brent crude was 2% lower at $78.92 a barrel at 0730 BST, while West Texas Intermediate was down 0.4% at $76.30 after Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran have agreed on a roadmap to reach a final deal in 60 days.

In a joint statement following talks between the two in Switzerland, the mediators said the US and Iran would continue technical talks throughout the week and establish a high-level committee to oversee the mediation process.

According to Reuters, the two sides have settled on a mechanism to end the fighting in Lebanon and opened a communications line to safeguard commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

On home shores, reports over the weekend suggested that Starmer could resign as early as Monday and set out an orderly exit following Andy Burnham's Makerfield by-election win.

In corporate news, budget airline easyJet has rejected a third non‑binding takeover proposal from Castlelake as the private equity firm urged shareholders to consider the terms ahead of the 26 June "put‑up or shut‑up" deadline.

The 625p per share proposal, submitted on 20 June, followed earlier proposals at 560p and 600p.

Castlelake said the offer represented a 59% premium to easyJet's undisturbed price on 28 May and a 71% premium to the volume‑weighted average price since its April interim update.

Elsewhere, Babcock backed its FY27 expectations as it posted a rise in annual revenue but a dip in underlying operating profit as it took a hit from a charge on a contract.

In the year to the end of March, revenue grew 8% to £5.18bn , with particularly strong growth in Nuclear and Aviation. Underlying operating profit fell to £293m from £363m a year earlier, however, due to a £140m charge on the Type 31 contract. Excluding the charge, operating profit increased 19%.