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FTSE preview: Libya fear hits oil & shares

By Reuters
Updated: 02:49 EDT, 22 February 2011

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The FTSE 100 is expected to fall today after further tumbles overnight in Asia as markets anxiously watch the unfolding crisis in Libya.

Traders at BGC react to the falling market

Bad day: The violence in the Middle East has hit markets.

Financial bookmakers expect the UK blue-chip index to open down 30-34 points, or 0.6%, having shed 68.19 points, or 1.1% on Monday to close at 6,014.80, its lowest closing level since February 4.

Libyan forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the world's second-longest-serving ruler after the Sultan of Brunei, have fought an increasingly bloody battle to keep him in power.

World powers have condemned the use of force against protesters, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accusing Libya of firing on civilians 'from warplanes and helicopters'.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, two Iranian ships entered the Suez Canal on Tuesday and were heading towards the Mediterranean, a canal official said, a move certain to anger Israel.

Brent crude oil futures rose by more than $2 to as high as $108.18 per barrel in Asian trade on fears that violence in Libya could lead to wider supply disruptions from the OPEC country.

Gold, a traditional safe haven, rose to its highest in seven weeks, lifting silver to its strongest level since 1980.

With US markets closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday, Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday as investors shunned assets seen as higher risk.

Japan's Nikkei average shed 1.8%, its first decline in seven days, slipping back from 9-1/2 month highs on profit-taking triggered by the turmoil.

Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook on Japan's AA2 rating to negative from stable and warned that it may cut Japan's sovereign rating if government policies fall short of a comprehensive tax reform.

On Monday, the FTSE 100 volatility index, a barometer of investor anxiety, rose 17%. The higher the index, the lower investors' appetite for risky assets such as stocks.

There is little on the economic front to provide any respite on Tuesday. UK January public finance figures are scheduled for release. US February consumer confidence data is due later this afternoon.

BHP Billiton is buying shale gas reserves from Chesapeake Energy Corp for $4.75bn, pitting itself for the first time against oil giants and China in the battle for the fast-growing energy source in North America.

BP has lined up one of the biggest foreign direct investments in India to date with a $7.2bn tie-up with the country's Reliance Industries to explore for deepwater oil and gas.

Britain's Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has filed a high court legal claim, alongside 10 strategic health authorities, against household goods maker Reckitt Benckiser, The Guardian said.

Industry sources suggested that Germany's TUI AG has finalised the timing of its IPO of Hapag-Lloyd for April 15, which would enable it to buy the 44.9% of the UK unit it doesn't yet own, the Daily Mail market report said.

There will be updates today from Informa, Croda International. Drax Group, Minerva, Genus, Avocet Mining, Brammer, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, MJ Gleeson, London Capital and Morgan Sindall.

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