The FTSE 100 is tipped for a lower open today in the wake of yesterday’s sell-off in Wall Street and Asia amid renewed concerns over Europe’s ability to tackle its fiscal problems and prevent the debt crisis from spreading across the euro zone.
The UK’s blue chip index is expects to drop 36 points (0.6 percent) this morning after slipping 61.5 points (1.05 percent) to close at 5,929 on Monday.
The UK markets will be influenced by today's US trade figures, which will be out this afternoon. In the UK, investors will have UK balance of trade, the official inflation data and an update on UK retail sales from the British Retail Conrotium (BRC) to digest this morning.
Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) slipped 151 points (1.2 percent) to end the session at 12,505, while the broader S&P 500 index tumbled 24 points (1.8 percent) to close at 1,319.
The unfolding European debt nightmare was the main depressant on Wall Street, and ongoing concerns about the America’s exposure to the crisis dragged down Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM).
Matters weren’t helped as aluminium producer Alcoa (NYSE:AA) kicked off the earnings season in the US with a below par performance.
America’s largest aluminium producer said that its net income in the second quarter more than doubled from US$136 million a year ago to US$322 million, or 28 cents per share.
Consensus expectations were for earnings of over 30 cents.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks took their cue from US equities. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 140 points (1.4 percent) just before close of play. China’s Shanghai Composite Index stood at 2,765 at the end of the session after falling 37.5 points (1.35 percent).