The FTSE looks set to open its weekly account in the red, with the stock market nervous about the ramifications of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
The spread betting firms are predicting the index of blue-chip shares will fall 33 points to 7,154.49 when trading gets underway later.
Those Asian markets open Monday reacted badly to Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions from seven Muslim-majority countries.
“As far as businesses are concerned the fallout has been negative, the ban receiving criticism from all over the business community including the CEOs of Google and Netflix, amongst others,” said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.
The US Federals Reserve is likely to stand pat on interest rates when it meets Tuesday and Wednesday, although it should provide some insight on how chair Janet Yellen and her team view the outlook for the US economy. The Fed issues its measure of inflation later Monday.
In the UK, it is set to be a quieter week for scheduled corporate news, with Thursday the key day for updates with full-year results from FTSE 100 giants Shell and AstraZeneca.
