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FTSE 100 set for early loss

Published: 15:48 13 Aug 2014 AEST

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London’s blue chips are set to open lower ahead of the latest inflation update from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.

Financial spread bet firms see Footsie about ten points lower when markets open after a lacklustre session on both Wall Street and in Asia overnight.

The Bank government’s comments will be the main centre of attention in the UK, however. 

Speculation has been growing that a rise in UK interest rates may be on the way before the end of 2014, but with Carney being accused of mixed messages recently some clarity about what the current policy is may be enough to satisfy markets.

US markets traded sideways overnight with one eye on the events in Ukraine and the world’s other trouble spots. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed nine points to 16,561, while there were also small loses for Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

After hours saw a bloodbath for recent float King Digital, which saw its shares dive by 21% after missesd second earnings and a cautious statement for the next three months.

King was one of this year’s high profile listings in the US based on the success of its Candy Crush app, but interest in the game has been waning and the company is struggling to find a replacement.

Asian markets were mixed. Tokyo rose slightly after another very poor performance from the Japanese economy as traders now expect another slug of QE from the government. Hang Seng and Shanghai eased lower.

On the UK corporate front, after yesterday’s mixed report from Serco it is G4S’s turn to try to escape from the outsourcers doghouse.

Car insurer Admiral hinted recently that premiums have stopped falling. Investors will want some confirmation of that in its interims today. 


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