London Open Briefing: Tuesday, July 21, 2026

The London session opens with a continuation of the positive sentiment observed in Asian trading. Major equity indices posted gains, with the JP225 up 1.96%, USTEC rising 1.49%, US500 gaining 0.67%, DE40 up 0.88%, and UK100 higher by 0.49%. Gold, XAUUSD, also advanced 1.62%. The Risk Meter registers +0.07, indicating a slight risk-on tone. This has translated into strength for the Australian dollar, up 0.50%, and the New Zealand dollar, up 0.33%, while the Swiss franc and Canadian dollar are among the weaker currencies, down 0.32% and 0.39% respectively.

Key UK economic data has just crossed the wires, presenting a mixed picture for the pound. The Employment Change 3-months came in at 147K, significantly above the 38K consensus. Public Sector Net Borrowing was reported at 15.989B, better than the 17.226B consensus. However, the Unemployment Rate rose to 4.9%, exceeding the 4.6% consensus. The UK Claimant Count Change showed an improvement at 6.7K, lower than the 24K consensus. The pound is currently down 0.04% in 24 hours. Separately, Swiss trade data showed Imports at 21.392B and Exports at 26.616B.

In terms of market positioning, retail books show disagreement on AUDUSD by 21 points, on XAUUSD by 20 points, and on NZDUSD by 26 points. The crowd shift on XAUUSD indicates the book moved 9pt toward long positions over the past 24 hours.

Traders will monitor how the market reconciles the mixed UK economic data with the broader risk-on sentiment.

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.