7.00am: FTSE 100 seen slightly lower after falls in the US
FTSE 100 is expected to open slightly lower after falls in the US and Asia and as the UK is enveloped in further political chaos with the position of prime minister, Liz Truss, under threat.
Spread betting companies are calling the lead index down by around 6 points.
US markets closed lower on Wednesday, giving back some of the gains of the past two days.
At the close the S&P 500 was down 25 points, or 0.66%, to 3,695, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 92 points, or 0.85%, to 10,861 and the Dow Jones fell 100 points, or 0.33%, to 30,424.
Back in the UK the government appeared to be on the brink of collapse after another chaotic day yesterday which saw the acrimonious resignation of the home secretary, Suella Braverman, mayhem in the Commons over a fracking vote, and confusion over whether the chief and deputy chief whip had quit.
The farcical scenes in the House of Commons, with allegations of manhandling and intimidation by Tory whips, were described as an "absolute disgrace", by Charles Walker, a former vice-chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs.
On the corporate front, trading updates are expected from AJ Bell PLC (LON:AJBA), Bunzl PLC (LON:BNZL), Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:DPH), Dunelm Group PLC (LON:DNLM) and Travis Perkins (LON:TPK) PLC amongst others.