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FTSE preview: Shares to fall; House prices

By Reuters
Updated: 02:56 EDT, 30 September 2010

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The FTSE 100 index is seen opening lower today, tracking weakness overnight on Wall street and in Asia and ending a surprisingly strong month and the quarter in dull fashion.

People walk past London's Stock Exchange

Taking stock: Investors will be focused on the final reading for US second quarter GDP

The UK blue chip index closed 9.17 points, or 0.2% lower on Wednesday at 5,569.27 after a choppy session, with weak banks the main drag on sentiment.

The FTSE 100 index is up 6.3% so far in September. Wall Street also took a breather from a month-long rally on Wednesday, with investors bracing for higher volatility going forward as the best quarter in a year nears its end.

The dollar was stuck near an eight-month low on Thursday, ground down by expectations of more Federal Reserve easing, while Asian stocks pulled back slightly from a two-year high as markets took a breather from September's strong rally.

British consumer confidence weakened more than expected in September, as people's outlook on their own finances and the economy as a whole darkened, a GfK/NOP survey showed on Thursday.

The only other domestic macroeconomic feature on Thursday will be September's Nationwide house prices report.

But investors will be more focused on the final reading for US second quarter GDP, although no revision is expected to the 1.6% quarter-on-quarter provisional growth number.

The latest US weekly jobless claims and September ISM New York report will also be released, with September's Chicago PMI data due later.

Britain's Treasury has commissioned a probe into high-frequency automated trading over concerns that a computer-generated error could affect the economy, the Financial Times said on Thursday.

Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is expected to inject a further €2bn to €3bn of state capital into Allied Irish Banks, the Financial Times reported without naming any sources.

There will be updates today from Icap, Compass Group, Dairy Crest, M&C Saatchi, Clipper Windpower, Hamworthy, Redstone, Mediazest, Network Technology and Datong Electronics.

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