Proactive Investors - The FTSE 100 is expected to open lower on Wednesday with the spotlight on US inflation figures and BP PLC (LON:BP.) after chief executive Bernard Looney’s resignation.
Spread betting firms are calling London’s lead index down by around 27 points after closing up 30.66 points, 0.4%, at 7,527.53.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, oil major BP said Looney had resigned after admitting that he had not been "fully transparent" about historical relationships with colleagues.
"Bernard Looney has notified the company that he has resigned as chief executive officer with immediate effect," the company said, adding that finance chief Murray Auchincloss would act as interim CEO.
Looney, 53, is leaving the energy firm after less than four years in the role.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HRGV) said: “BP is one of the biggest players in British business, missteps of this magnitude aren’t what investors expect from one of the country’s most influential C-suites.”
“Strong governance and conduct controls are rightly non-negotiables,” she added.
Elsewhere, and the early focus in London will be a GDP reading while US inflation figures will take centre stage later in the session.