Proactive Investors - Good morning. The FTSE 100 is expected to open higher despite some hefty losses in the US as investors await the latest call on interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index up by around 23 points.
The US central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 5% to 5.25%, its highest level in nearly 16 years, when it concludes its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
Nervousness about the health of the US banking sector and weak job vacancies figures sent US stocks lower ahead of the FOMC meeting.
Regional banking shares came under renewed pressure despite the rescue deal for First Republic. Shares in PacWest, seen as one of the weakest of the midsized regional banks, was briefly halted for volatility and closed down 27.8%, while Western Alliance fell 15.1%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 367.17 points, or 1.1%, at 33,684.53. The S&P 500 slipped 48.29 points, or 1.2%, at 4,119.58 while the Nasdaq Composite shed 132.09 points, or 1.1%, at 12,080.51.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 and Shanghai Composite were closed. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was down 1.8%.
Back in London, and the early focus will be results from Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) and trading statements from Flutter Entertainment and Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV).