The FTSE 100 is expected to open lower after a weak showing on US markets yesterday, sparked by oil price weakness.
Asian markets are trading firmer this morning, however, and the Footsie’s fall is expected to be relatively modest, somewhere around 40 points at 6,057.
Heading into the last hour of trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 59 points at 16,086 while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index was up 150 points at 19,263.
US benchmarks just about ended February higher than they started it, but the final day of the month saw all three of the major benchmarks give up ground.
The Dow Jones average closed at 16,517, down 123 points, while the S&P 500 retreated 16 points to 1,932. The Nasdaq Composite was off 32 points at 4,558.
On the futures markets, oil was holding its own, with WTI crude for April delivery up 21 cents at $33.96 a barrel and Brent also up 23 cents, at $36.80 a barrel.
On the economic front, it is a big day for manufacturing purchasing manager indices, while in the US presidential primaries it is so-called Super Tuesday.
On the corporate front, the final shoe drops in the banking results season, with Barclays (LON:BARC) weighing in. Pre-tax profit for the year is expected to come in at £6.1bn against an actual figure of £5.1bn at the nine month stage.