CNBC Daily Open: Can Starmer ‘keep calm and carry on?'

In this article

• .KS11
• @LCO.1
• GBP=

Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, issues a statement regarding the Manchester Synagogue attack, at Downing Street on October 2, 2025 in London, England.

Wpa Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Hello, this is Katie Foley writing to you from London, where Downing Street is dominating the agenda.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a crunch cabinet meeting this morning. His premiership seemingly rests on a knife-edge after a day of intrigue of the kind that British politics seems to have perfected in recent years.

What you need to know today

British Cabinet ministers - reportedly including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood - have told Keir Starmer to lay out a plan to leave Number 10. In addition, more than 70 of his own MPs have told him to quit and several ministerial aides have resigned, with Starmer’s ‘make-or-break’ speech yesterday failing to quell the growing rebellion.

London mayor Sadiq Khan told CNBC he is not calling for a change of Prime Minister, but that “we have not been bold enough, we’ve not been brave enough. We are in danger of losing the next general election pretty badly.” On Europe, Khan says Labour should commit to rejoining the EU at the next general election, calling Brexit “the biggest act of economic self-harm any country has ever done.”

The timing of all this is awkward, with the King’s Speech laying out the government’s priorities at the state opening of parliament set to take place on Wednesday.

Oil prices are higher after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire with Iran was on “life support” after rejecting Tehran’s counterproposal to end the war, signaling the conflict in the Middle East could drag on. Trump told reporters that the state of the ceasefire is “unbelievably weak,” calling Iran’s counterproposal to end the conflict “garbage.”

President Trump is due to land in China tomorrow evening with a host of CEOs in tow. Invitees include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, according to a White House official.

In markets, Asian stocks are diverging while European futures are pointing firmly lower. But Wall Street continues its steady climb, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting fresh record highs.

— Katie Foley

And finally…

‘The haters will hate’: Dan Ives predicts Nasdaq 30,000 as AI rally expands

The Nasdaq will rise to 30,000 points in the next year as a bumper earnings season continues to bolster enthusiasm for AI stocks, Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Monday.

A solid tech earnings season has seen investor jitters earlier this year replaced with bullishness over the AI infrastructure buildout. At close on Friday the Nasdaq Composite ended at 26,247.08, marking a 12.93% increase so far this year.

“These earnings have validated the AI bullish thesis,” Ives said. “Demand and supply is 10-1 for chips. We are in the early days still of the AI revolution. The haters will hate, and we know that.”

— Kai Nicol-Schwarz

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.