Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 35 points higher.
As well as Trump’s sweeping tariffs, investors were left to digest a disappointing non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which prompted Trump to fire the chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "Market sentiment is turning sour after last Friday’s weak US jobs data that led to the firing of the Chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)!
"The BLS reported just 73,000 nonfarm payroll gains for June - far below expectations. But what likely enraged Trump was the revisions: a sharp downward adjustment of 258,000 jobs from the previous two months, which completely reshaped the narrative of a resilient labour market. Taken together, the three-month average job gain fell from 150,000 to just 35,000."
On home shores, investors will get their first chance to react to the Supreme Court’s ruling late on Friday that hidden commissions from lenders to dealers on car loans were not unlawful. The ruling means that millions of motorists will not be able to claim.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "Lenders will be relieved that they’ve avoided having to potentially pay out millions of pounds in compensation to motorists who hadn’t been fully informed about the levels of commission being paid to their dealers.
"Most people buying a car in the UK take out finance and most won’t have scrutinised the small print before pocketing the keys and driving off the forecourt and it was this lack of transparency which formed the basis for the original court case.
"But the Supreme Court was clear that an earlier ruling in favour of motorists was wrong, that the commission paid to dealers was neither a bribe nor could anyone have expected a dealer not to have a commercial interest in selling cars.
"But the ruling did potentially leave the door ajar on future cases after it upheld one of the claims relating to the relationship between a motorist, Mr Johnson and his lender."
Following the ruling, the Financial Conduct Authority said it will consult on running a compensation scheme.
In a statement on Sunday, the FCA said it was unlikely that the cost of the scheme, including to run it, would be much lower than £9bn.
"And it could be higher, up to £18 billion in some scenarios though the FCA doesn’t believe these are the most likely," it said. "A total cost midway in the range, as forecast by some analysts, is more plausible."
In corporate news, shipping broker Clarkson said it expected annual earnings to be second-half weighted as an uncertain economic environment and US tariffs led to a fall in freight rates, hitting half-year profits.
Pre-tax profit for the six months to 30 June fell to £37.5m from £50m a year earlier. Revenues declined to £298m from £310m.
Online marketplace operator Auction Technology said it has acquired Chairish, a US-based marketplace for vintage furniture and art.
The $85m acquisition, which was expected to broaden ATG's reach in the Arts & Antiques segment, adds 1.3m curated items and 12,000 sellers to its network, significantly expanding its inventory and buyer traffic.
Convatec’s chief executive Karim Bitar is to take a medical leave of absence from the company, the medical products and technologies group announced.
Chief financial officer Jonny Mason will step in to become interim CEO, and be replaced by group financial controller Fiona Ryder, while the company waits for Bitar’s return.