Proactive Investors - The FTSE 100 is expected to open lower on Wednesday after Asian markets fell after weak manufacturing data in China.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index down by around 27 points, below the 7,500 mark.
China's manufacturing activity shrank in May for the second successive month, official figures showed, the latest sign that the country's economic recovery is losing steam.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.8 for May, compared with 49.2 in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The non-manufacturing PMI, which covers activity in the service sector and industries such as construction, was 54.5 in May, below the previous month’s figure of 56.4.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.7%. In China, the Shanghai composite was down 0.7% while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng tumbled 2.5%.
US equities closed Tuesday mixed with a further jump in AI-related stocks boosting the Nasdaq, while blue chips were held back by nerves ahead of a number of votes to approve the US debt ceiling deal brokered over the long weekend.
The agreement cleared its first big legislative hurdle in a House of Representatives committee on Tuesday, as lawmakers rushed to whip votes in support of the agreement and avert a default.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.56 points, or 0.2%, to 33,042.78. The S&P 500 ended flat at 4,205.52 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 41.74 points, 0.3%, at 13,017.43.
Back in London and retailers will be an early focus with updates from B&M European Value Retail and WH Smith (LON:SMWH).