7.00am: FTSE 100 set to open higher
FTSE 100 is seen slightly at the open although markets are likely to remain volatile following the £65bn ntervention by the Bank of England yesterday and ongoing concerns about the strength of the UK’s finances.
Spread betting companies are calling the lead index up by around 18 points.
In the US, markets rebounded strongly with the Dow up 547 points, 1.9%, at 29,682, the Nasdaq Composite up 222 points, 2.1%, to 1,052 and the S&P 500 up 71 points, 2%, to 3,719.
The Dow snapped a six-day winning streak, thanks in part to The Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which saw shares gain 5% to $282.24.
Asian markets were also higher with the Nikkei 225 up 1.0% in late trade in Tokyo and the Hang Seng 0.9% to the good.
Interim results from retailer Next PLC (LSE:NXT) before the market open will provide an indication of how UK shoppers are responding to mounting economic pressures.