Proactive Investors - Good morning – and the FTSE 100 is expected to open higher on Thursday despite fresh concerns over embattled Chinese property giant, Evergrande (HK:3333).
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index up by 12 points after closing down 32.50 points at 7,593.22 on Wednesday.
Evergrande suspended trading of its shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday, according to notices posted by the bourse.
Neither the company nor the exchange provided any explanation for the halt, which also followed a Bloomberg report on Wednesday that the company’s chair Hui Ka Yan was under police surveillance.
The suspension comes just days after the developer said its restructuring plan could not proceed and pushed the Hang Seng to a 10-month low, falling 1.1%.
US markets closed mixed after a fresh surge in the oil price sparked inflationary concerns.
The latest report from the Energy Information Administration showed that US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 2.2 million barrels from the previous week, further tightening supply while the delivery point for WTI saw inventories fall to the lowest point in more than a year.
Brent crude was trading a further 1.0% higher at $97.45/barrel, continuing what appears to be a relentless rise to $100/barrel, after strong gains on Wednesday.
Back in London and the early focus will be an update from pub chain Mitchells & Butler.