LONDON (ShareCast) - The FTSE 100 is expected to open moderately lower again on Thursday following a steep sell-off the day before, as concerns about the global economy continue to weigh on sentiment ahead of a busy day for financial markets worldwide.
 
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 23 points from yesterday's close of 6,627.

The index lost 1.99% of its value on Wednesday after the OECD slashed its global growth estimates and the International Monetary Fund reduced its forecasts for China.

Meanwhile, rising bond yields in the US - owing to increased speculation that the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its stimulus programme - dampened the demand for some higher-yielding equities in London such as utilities.

The economic calendar for Thursday is looking pretty packed and is likely to keep traders on their toes. This morning will see an Italian bond auction and consumer confidence data from the Eurozone, while eyes this afternoon will be on US gross domestic product growth figures, jobless claims data and pending home sales.
  

Tullow disappoints with another well update

Oil giant Tullow has been forced to plug and abandon another one of its exploration wells, this time in Cote D'Ivoire. The company, which has seen its stock drop nearly 18% so far this year on the back of a series of disappointing exploration updates, said that its Calao-1X well found good quality reservoir sandstones but these were water bearing. The well was the second one drilled on the CI-103 licence, in which Tullow carries a 30% interest.

News Corporation will cancel its listing on the Official List and admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as the media giant plans to split into two publicly traded companies. The group decided to remove its common stock , which includes class A non-voting and class B voting stock, after determining it represents less than 1.0% of its total trading volume world-wide.

Utilities giant Severn Trent revealed increased pre-tax profit for the full financial year and said it remains committed to its dividend growth policy until March 2015. The group, which rejected a bid approach earlier this month from a consortium of foreign investors, said turnover increased 3.4% to £1.83bn for the year to March 31st 2013.

BC

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