Budget Day in the UK is set for a quiet start with economic issues in the US and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine likely again to dominate the headlines.
Spreadbet firms sees FTSE100 ekeing out a small gain when trading open early to follow yesterday’s 37 point gain to 6,505.
Wall Street had a good day closing 89 points higher at 16,336, with Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also pushing higher.
UK Chancellor George Osborne has already some of what is likely to be in his speech this afternoon.
Plans announced already include an increase the childcare subsidy to up to £2,000 per child from September next year in a bid to win the family vote, the construction of Britain's first garden city since Welwyn and an extension to the Help to Buy scheme.
Economists expect a very different feel to last year’s Budget when the UK economy was still in the doldrums though there is an expectation that Osborne may hold something in reserve with for General Election in May next year and bang the auterity drum once again with more cuts in pubic expenditure predicted.
Markets have taken UK Budgets in their stride in recent years and more attention more be directed across the Atlantic to the conclusion of the first meeting of Federal Reserve’s interest Committee to be chaired by Janet Yellen.
Most commentators expect another US$10bn to be tapered from the monthly bond buying programme, but any comments about how the weather has affected the US recovery will also be keenly scrutinised by market watchers.
Asian markets were mixed overnight with gain in Tokyo and slight declines in Hong Kong and Shanghai.