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(Alliance News) – Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday, with geopolitical developments in focus in the wake of US intervention in Venezuela over the weekend.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open up 55.4 points, or 0.6%, at 10,006.54 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 19.76 points, 0.2%, at 9,951.14 on Friday. It had earlier traded as high as 10,046.25, a record intra-day level.

Sterling was at USD1.3434 on Monday morning, down from USD1.3491 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro was lower at USD1.1690 from USD1.1745. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JPY157.06 versus JPY156.64.

Geopolitical factors will be in focus on Monday after dramatic events in Venezuela over the weekend.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail on Saturday, hours after US special forces seized and flew him out of his country — which US President Donald Trump said would come under effective US control.

Trump said he was “designating people” from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela but gave no further details. In another surprise, Trump indicated US troops could be deployed, saying Washington is “not afraid of boots on the ground”.

Venezuela’s new leadership has signalled a willingness to cooperate with the US.

“Wene invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistce,” Delcy Rodriguez, declared the interim president of Venezuela, said on Sunday in a statement posted on Instagram.

Gold was up at USD4,421.60 an ounce early on Monday from USD4,320.16 late Friday. Brent oil was trading slightly higher at USD60.32 a barrel from USD60.09.

Meanwhile, Trump doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by Denmark’s prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory.

“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” Trump said while aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite ended marginally lower.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was at 4.18% on Monday, slimmed from 4.19% on Friday. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.86%, slightly narrowed from 4.87%.

In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 3.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 1.3% higher, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose slightly.

There are no local corporate events scheduled for Monday.

Monday’s global economic calendar has UK mortgage approvals data and the US ISM manufacturing PMI.

By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Capricorn is pleased to provide the following operational and financial update.

Operational update

Capricorn’s working interest production averaged 20,175 boepd (41% liquids) in 2025, above the production guidance midpoint of 19,000 boepd. The 2025 exit rate was 21,003 boepd with recent strong production performance driven by new development wells drilled since July 2025 and a waterflood programme in the Badr El Din (BED) field area. Notably, gas performance since October has been enhanced by the drilling of BED15-31 which has produced strongly from the Lower Bahariya formation and offers the potential for follow-up wells that will be prioritised in early 2026.

Exploration drilling in 2025 produced encouraging results in the North Um Baraka (NUMB) and South East Horus (SEH) licences where Capricorn is working with the Operator to evaluate future activity. In NUMB, the joint venture is progressing a development lease application following the drilling of NUMB-6. This well should be tied-in early 2026 with follow-up drilling anticipated in 2027. In SEH, the SEH-6X well established the extension of an active petroleum system and was considered sufficiently positive to justify progressing to phase 2 on the licence.

Financial update

The Company received $43m from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) in late December. This brings the total amount received by Capricorn since 30 June 2025 to $156m, reducing its accounts receivable to the lowest position since 2022, at approximately $84m (H1/25: $182m), excluding expected credit loss adjustments.

Capricorn has repaid its entire outstanding Senior Debt Facility with a voluntary payment of $18m prior to the end of the year. Additionally, the Junior Debt Facility amortised by $10m in Q4 2025, leaving an outstanding debt balance of $30m on 31 December 2025. The remaining balance is currently scheduled for settlement in two instalments during 2026 and 2027. At 31 December 2025, the Company’s net cash position stood at approximately $103m (H1/25: $32m).

Capricorn announced in December that it had entered into a lock-up agreement to support Harbour Energy Plc’s (Harbour’s) acquisition of the Waldorf Production group and will settle its unsecured claims against Waldorf for a payment estimated to be around $4-5m, based on a methodology agreed between Capricorn and certain of Waldorf’s creditors. Completion of the acquisition is subject to regulatory consents and is likely to require the sanction of a further restructuring plan.

Outlook

Last month, the Egyptian Cabinet approved the integrated concession agreement, representing the final step prior to parliamentary approval and formal ratification expected in Q1 2026. The Company is committed to leveraging the new terms to enhance production and reserves.

^{* Reported production volumes and financial figures are unaudited and subject to change}

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Enquiries to:

Analysts / Investors
Nathan Piper, Commercial Director
Tel: 0131 475 3000

Media
Diana Milford, Corporate Affairs
Tel: 0131 475 3000

Georgia Edmonds / Violet Wilson / Fergus Young, Camarco
Tel: 0203 757 4980

Capricorn Energy

Capricorn is an Egypt-focused energy producer, with an attractive portfolio of onshore exploration, development and production assets in the Western Desert. For more information on Capricorn visit: https://www.capricornenergy.com