The FTSE 100 is seen opening 0.8% higher after a late recovery on Wall Street and due to higher metal and oil prices.
The UK's blue chip index remained above the opening level for most of the day yesterday, however slipped back into the red in late afternoon to close with a marginal loss.
Bank Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) led the blue chips with a 4.3% gain. Credit information group Experian (LSE: EXPN) followed, climbing 2.7%. Chipmaker ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM) added 2.6%, while Cable & Wireless Worldwide (LSE: CW), commercial property company British Land (LSE: BLND) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSE: LSE) tacked on more than 2%. Gold miner Randgold Resources (LSE: RRS), another property stocks Land Securities (LSE: LAND) and private equity group 3i (LSE: III) added about 1.5%.
Hedge fund manager Man Group (LSE: EMG) was the heaviest faller in the index, slipping 8.8%. Tour operators Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG) and TUI Travel (LSE: TT), insurer Aviva (LSE: AV) and miner Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) lost about 3%.
US stocks rebounded late in the day to get back on positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.05%. The broader S&P 500 index climbed 0.1% and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite rose 0.3%.
Asian markets were on the rise today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.8%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.3%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index inched higher 0.1%, as did Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225. South Korea’s KOSPI went against the tide, shedding 0.5%.
Commodities
Oil prices were higher with July Brent Crude reaching US$75.89/barrel, while US light, sweet crude rose to US$71.01/barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
Precious metals were mixed as while gold and silver declined to US$1,219/oz and US$18.89/oz, platinum rose to US$1,681/oz.
Base metals were on the rise. Copper and nickel improved to US$2.98/lb and US$9.32/lb, while zinc climbed to US$0.86/lb.