Proactive Investors - The FTSE 100 is expected to open lower as worries over economic growth pulled blue chips stocks lower on Wall Street although strong results from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) may lift the mood.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index down by around 20 points.
On Wall Street, tech stocks advanced following well-received results from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) while after the closing bell Meta also jumped 12% after better-than-expected first-quarter revenue.
But blue chips fell back as banks fell with First Republic (NYSE:FRC) tumbling once more.
The Dow closed Wednesday down 229 points, 0.7%, at 33,302, while the Nasdaq added 55 points, 0.5%, to 11,854, and the S&P 500 shed 16 points, 0.4%, to 4,056.
Investors will also be eyeing the weekly unemployment claims report and GDP data in the US this afternoon.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index was flat. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.2%.
Back in London and the early focus will be trading updates from AstraZeneca (LON:AZN), Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW), Unilever (LON:ULVR), WPP (LON:WPP), and Barclays (LON:BARC).
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