FTSE 100 seen slightly higher ahead of Thursday’s open

The FTSE 100 is set to start Thursday on the front foot, albeit only slightly, as global equity markets remain in a holding pattern. CFD firm IG Markets sees the London benchmark up 9 points making a price of 6,940 to 6,943 with just over an hour until the open. Asian stocks were weighed by sluggishness in the Chinese economy, meanwhile, western markets are somewhat preoccupied with the mulling of inflation and future monetary concerns (though this still appears to be a problem for later). “At the beginning of the week there was plenty of speculation that a hot reading on US CPI might give added fuel to the inflation bulls, and in doing so give policymakers at the Federal Reserve some food for thought,” said Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets. “This was never really likely given that the March CPI numbers were always going to be on the high side given that a year ago the US economy was put into lockdown, thus introducing a deflationary shock on prices, which is only now starting to reverse. “It will probably need a much more sustained recovery in prices over the next few months before markets become too concerned, however there are still plenty of warning signs in the recent data, due to various supply chain disruptions.” On Wall Street, the Dow Jones edged 0.16% or 53 points higher to close Wednesday at 33,730. The S&P 500 meanwhile moved 0.4% lower to 4,124 and the Nasdaq gave up nearly 1% to finish the day at 13,857. Coinbase, the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange, saw its first hours of trading and as predicted raced to make gains from the reference price set ahead of the listed on Nasdaq. After a US$250 reference price set a US$65bn valuation, the stock’s lowest print follow Wednesday afternoon’s first trade was marked at US$310 – it peak at US$429 intraday and closed at US$328.28. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei was practically flat changing hands marked at 29,618. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng meanwhile fell close to 1% at 28,642 and the Shanghai Composite similarly fell 0.9% to 3,388. Around the markets Pound: US$1.3771, down 0.06% Gold: US$1,742 per ounce, down 0.16% Silver: US$25.50, up 0.58% Brent crude: US$66.62 per barrel, up 4.6% WTI crude: US$63.04 per barrel, up 4.75% Bitcoin: US$63,016, down 1.94% 6.50am: Early Markets - Asia / Australia Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday as Australia’s unemployment rate for March came in at 5.6% according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), against expectations of a 5.7% reading in a Reuters poll. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1% while the Shanghai Composite in China slipped 0.90%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.02% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.43%. Shares in Australia advanced, with the S&P/ASX 200 trading 0.60% higher. READ OUR ASX REPORT HERE Proactive Australia news: Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25) has completed an “extremely successful” first stage of development at the wholly-owned, world-class Butcherbird Project in Western Australia, with the first manganese ore processed through the plant. Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX:BGL) (OTCMKTS:BELGF) has delivered a maiden resource of 310,000 ounces at 9.7 g/t gold at its Marceline discovery within its Western Australian eponymous project. Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ZLD) (OTCQB:ZLDAF) (FRA:G1G) achieved record product sales and licensing revenues of A$225,000 during the March quarter - up 249% on the prior six months. St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) (FRA:S0G) has discovered new high-grade nickel-copper sulphides at its flagship Mt Alexander Project in Western Australia’s north-eastern Goldfields region, suggesting the presence of a significant mineralised intrusive system. Red River Resources Ltd (ASX:RVR) continued to ramp up production in Q3 FY21 at its Thalanga Operations in Queensland and Hillgrove Gold Mine in NSW. PVW Resources Ltd (ASX:PVW) has started a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at Jungle Well Gold Project within its broader Leonora Project in Western Australia aimed at upgrading the existing inferred resource estimate. FYI Resources Ltd (ASX:FYI) (FRA:SDL) (OTCMKTS:FYIRF) will start trading on the US-based OTCQX market on Thursday, April 15 (US time), under the stock code OTCQX:FYIRF, after its application to OTC Markets was accepted. Aeris Resources Ltd’s (ASX:AIS) joint venture partner Helix Resources Ltd (ASX:HLX) has begun diamond drilling at the Canbelego Copper Project in central New South Wales, in proximity to Aeris's Tritton operations. MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:MXC) (LON:MXC) (OTCMKTS:MGCLF) (FRA:H5O) is poised to supply the global phytocannabinoid-derived medicines market with its portfolio of established and upcoming products through its worldwide distribution footprint and expanding patient base.