Proactive Investors - Good morning and the FTSE 100 looks set to weaken when trading opens on Wednesday after the jump in the oil price sparked renewed fears over inflation.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index down by around 30 points after closing down 14.83 points at 7,437.93 on Tuesday.
News that Saudi Arabia had extended production cuts until the end of the year pushed oil prices higher on Tuesday with the price of Brent crude topping $90/barrel, although it is below that mark in current trading.
"There is increasing concern that the rise in oil prices that we've seen since June, will put a base under the recent slowdown in prices, and keep inflation at elevated levels for longer," CMC’s Michael Hewson said.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank said: “As a result, the central banks, including the Fed, will have little choice but to keep their monetary policies sufficiently tight to prevent an uptick in inflation.”
“That could mean further rate hikes, or keeping the rates at restrictive levels for longer, in which case, oil prices make a U-turn and cheapen due to recession and global demand concerns.”
The early focus in London on a busy looking morning will be from Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV), WH Smith (LON:SMWH), Darktrace (LON:DARK), Ashmore (LON:ASHM) and WH Smith (LON:SMWH) amongst others.