FTSE 100 preview: Index seen lower ahead of Trump-Kim meeting

The UK benchmark index looks set to open lower this morning, with investors eyeing Brexit developments, as well as a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On the corporate front, the earnings season will continue with ITV (LON:ITV).

Index to open lower

IG’s opening calls suggest that the Footsie will open 0.24 percent lower at 7,134 points. Investors will eye the Trump-Kim meeting in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi later today. In Brexit developments, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that she would give MPs the chance to vote on March 13-14 for a no-deal Brexit or a delay to Brexit.

In the US, shares fell last night, pressured by corporate earnings and following comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who said that the nation’s economy is ‘healthy’. His comments meanwhile have lifted Asian shares this morning.

“There is a fear in the market that sentiment has got a bit carried away on the positive side, especially given the experiences we had through October and through December, when we had some really sharp downward corrections,” Nick Twidale, chief operating officer at Rakuten Securities Australia, told Reuters. “A lot of investors are wary of seeing something along those lines.”

In the UK, the Footsie fell in the previous session, giving up 32.62 points to close 0.45 percent lower at 7,151.12, pressured by a rise in sterling, with the pound benefitting from hopes for a Brexit delay.

Today’s agenda

This Wednesday’s releases include the eurozone’s business confidence data for February, due out at 10:00 GMT, to be followed by US pending home sales numbers for January at 15:00 GMT.

On the corporate front, ITV is due to post earnings amid worries about a drop in revenue next month when the UK is set to leave the EU. Investors will also eye updates from Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW), St James’s Place (LON:STJ) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO).