FTSE preview: Shares fall after 6-month high

By Reuters
Updated: 02:53 EDT, 22 October 2010

The FTSE 100 is expected to fall today after hitting a six-month peak the previous session, as investors await news from a meeting of G20 financial leaders in South Korea.

Taking stock: Shares have enjoyed a good week.

The blue-chip index was seen falling as much as 0.3% after it closed 0.5% higher at 5,757.86 the previous session, its highest close since late April.

An agreement to tackle economic imbalances and fend off the prospect of damaging currency devaluations looked set to evade global financial leaders at the G20 meeting in South Korea on Friday and Saturday.

Investors will watch data from continental Europe for clues on the outlook for the global economy. German IFO business sentiment data and Italian retail sales are released.

US economic growth data from Economic Cycle Research Institute will also be watched at.

Inflation expectations in British financial markets and among the general public are stable, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Adam Posen said in a newspaper interview published on Thursday.

Vietnamese state oil group Petrovietnam said on Friday it still has the option to buy the offshore oil projects BP this week agreed to sell to its Russian joint venture TNK-BP.

The Canadian province home to Potash Corp said it opposed BHP's $39bn bid to buy the fertilizer supplier, setting the stage for a politically charged final decision by the federal government.

Saskatchewan may consider imposing a resource transfer tax on BHP Billiton if Ottawa approves its proposed takeover of provincial crown jewel Potash Corp, Saskatchewan's Premier Brad Wall said on Thursday.

BSkyB releases its first-quarter results and holds its AGM.

IBM is on the acquisition trail with market sources suggesting that Micro Focus International is firmly in its sights, the Daily Mail Market report said.

There will be updates today from Mecom, Provident Financial and United Business Media.