Workspace sells final phase of Bow Enterprise Park, Cairn Energy seeking $1bn in damages

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 61 points higher on Monday, after closing up 0.6% at 7,463.54 on Friday.

Stocks to watch

Workspace Group announced the exchange of contracts for the disposal of the third and final phase of the mixed-use redevelopment of Bow Enterprise Park, London E3 on Monday. The FTSE 250 firm said the final phase of the redevelopment, comprising 130 residential units, had been sold for £6.3m in cash and the return of a new 40,000 square foot business centre.

Cairn Energy said it seeking $1bn in damages from an international arbitration case in The Hague over its long-running tax dispute with the Indian government, including $104m that Indian tax authorities signed off last week. On Friday, the Indian income tax department ordered Vedanta Limited, which acquired Cairn's 58.5% stake in Cairn India and has since completed a merger, to pay over any sums due to Cairn Energy.

Newspaper round-up

European leaders fear that Theresa May’s government is too fragile to negotiate viable terms on which to leave the union, meaning the discussions that officially begin on Monday could end in a “brutal Brexit” – under which talks collapse without any deal. As officials began gathering in Brussels on Sunday night, the long-awaited start of negotiations was overshadowed by political chaos back in Westminster, where chancellor Philip Hammond warned that failing to strike a deal would be “a very, very bad outcome”. - Guardian

Germany has offered a soft Brexit with a reduced jurisdiction for EU judges over Britain and continued access to Europe’s single market in return for a British concession on free movement. Sigmar Gabriel, the German foreign minister, suggested yesterday that European countries were willing to make trade-offs in advance of negotiations on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. Talks begin in Brussels today. - The Times

Police are investigating a potential terror attack in London after a van ploughed into people near a north London mosque, killing one man and injuring eight others. The prime minister, Theresa May, was woken to be told of the early-morning incident at Finsbury Park and has confirmed that counter-terrorism command is leading an active inquiry. - Guardian

The chancellor, Philip Hammond, hinted on Sunday that the government would ease up on its austerity programme, saying the Conservatives were “not deaf” to the message delivered by the election result. In interviews in which he also criticised Theresa May’s team for sidelining him during the election campaign, Hammond said that he accepted that “people are weary of the long slog”. - Guardian

Ageing baby boomers are expected to hand over nearly £3trn of their wealth to relatives over the next three decades, providing a major boost to the economy for years, according to research by a leading money manager. About £920bn is expected to be gifted by the over-55s to family by 2047, equivalent to an annual boost of 1.2 percentage points to UK GDP, funding for 3.4m first-time buyers to purchase a home or enough to cover the tuition fees of 24m students. - The Times

US close

Wall Street was mired in negative territory following weaker than expected economic data and after Amazon.com announced the takeover of Whole Foods amid the quarterly expiry of futures and options on shares and indices, the so-called 'quadruple witching'.

By the closing bell the Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 0.11% or 24.38 points to 21,384.28, while the S&P 500 was ahead 0.3% or 0.69% points at 2,433.15 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.22% or 13.74 points to 6,151.76.

"It's difficult to read too much into moves in equity markets with today being the expiry of June futures and options – otherwise known as quadruple witching – likely playing a big role," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

For the week as a whole the Dow Jones added roughly 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was little changed and the Nasdaq-100 lost another 1.1%.