London pre-open: Stocks to rise ahead of Warsh speech
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 28 Aug 2026
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following a positive session on Wall Street, as investors eyed a speech by new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 20 points higher.
Investors will be looking for any hints about monetary policy going forward from Warsh, who has so far been tight-lipped when it comes to his views on the US economy.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "Now that the Tech trade is on a more solid footing, the focus can shift to Jackson Hole, where global central bankers have gathered for the Federal Reserve's annual conference. The theme of this year's conference is the effects of technical innovation on global payments systems and on economic policy making. However, from a market perspective, the focus is on Fed chair Kevin Warsh's speech, which will take place at 1500 BST.
"The question for investors is whether this speech will be worth waiting for ahead of a UK bank holiday weekend? In the past, Fed governors have used this address to signpost the future direction of monetary policy. Due to this, it has always been a market-moving event, directly impacting the price of bonds, the dollar and gold."
However, Brooks said there is "virtually no chance" that Warsh will follow in his predecessors' footsteps, as he has said on multiple occasions that he does not think forward guidance is useful outside of economic crises.
"This speech could focus on bigger issues, such as how he plans to run the world's most important central bank, and also what changes he will make and when," she said. "While not offering direct guidance on the future of interest rates, everything he says will be scrutinised by investors, and changes that he plans to make could still trigger market volatility."
In UK corporate news, Morgan Advanced Materials said it has disposed of its full shareholding in Foseco India, made up of 1.2m shares and representing approximately 15% of the business' issued share capital.
The company said it received a gross consideration of INR 6.53bn (£50.28m) for the sale, with proceeds to be used to reduce net debt, consistent with its previously stated focus on de-leveraging.
Goodwin said that talks regarding the sale of its Mechanical Engineering division are progressing well, and there have been discussions with a "number of potentially interested parties".
After announcing a strategic review of the business unit three weeks ago, the board said it wants to complete a disposal within the next 12 months, and expects to return a "substantial part" of any cash proceeds to shareholders. The update came as the engineering firm reported a doubling of operating profits for the financial year to 30 April.
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