London Open Briefing: Friday, October 2, 2026

The London session opens with a mixed tone across markets. Asian equities saw gains, with the JP225 up 0.63%, while European DE40 rose 0.27%. US index futures also traded higher, including USTEC at +0.42% and US30 at +0.33%. Gold, XAUUSD, gained 0.26%. The risk meter currently registers -0.27, suggesting a slight risk-off bias. In currency markets over the past 24 hours, the CHF has been the strongest performer, up 1.07%, while the EUR has been the weakest, down 0.60%. The USD is flat.

Today’s economic calendar features several high-impact releases. At 08:00 UTC, Brazil’s FIPE CPI m/m is due, with consensus at 0.24% following a previous 0.01%. A busy 09:00 UTC brings a suite of Eurozone inflation data, including CPI y/y, expected at 3% against a previous 3.2%, and the Euro Area CPI Flash Estimate y/y, with a consensus of 3.7% after the previous 3.3%. Traders will also watch for Core CPI y/y, with a consensus of 2.4%.

Later in the session, at 12:30 UTC, attention shifts to the United States with the release of key labor market figures. These include the US Unemployment Rate, expected to hold at 4.1%, and Non-Farm Payrolls, with a consensus of 89K following the previous 162K. US Average Hourly Earnings m/m are also due, with consensus at 0.3%.

Retail positioning shows divergence, with books disagreeing by 20 points on both XAUUSD and EURUSD. Crowd shifts indicate the book moved 10pt toward short on XAUUSD and 9pt toward short on USDJPY in the last 24 hours.

All eyes will be on the US labor market data at 12:30 UTC.

Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)

Times are UTC. This brief describes measured market state and the published schedule. It is not financial advice and nothing in it is a trade recommendation.