FTSE 100 to start Thursday on back foot as central bankers fail to see eye to eye

The FTSE 100 is set to start Thursday on the back foot after risk appetite came and went, before and after the Federal Reserve minutes released last night. CFD firm IG Markets sees the London benchmark down 24 points, making a price of 7,126 to 7,129 with just over an hour to go until Thursday’s open. Macro-eyes remain fixed on the economic recovery, the inflation threat and central bank policy as Fed minutes showed division in the camp. “Minutes from the June FOMC meeting showed two camps wrangling over whether the US economy was ready for a speedier reduction of asset purchases,” Danske Bank analyst Aila Mihr said in a note.                                                                  “Some officials hinted that tapering of purchases may start earlier than expected given the stronger economic outlook, but some officials also urged caution that incoming information in the coming months would provide a better assessment of the path of the labour market and inflation.” Wall Street traders saw the Dow Jones close Wednesday higher, rising 104 points or 0.3%, to finish at 34,681 whilst the S&P 500 similarly added 0.34% to end the session at 4,358. The Nasdaq was only a sliver higher, closing at 14,665, and the small-cap Russell 2000 fell nearly 1% to 2,252. In Asia, trading factors included worries over the Chinese tech sector and the threat of censure, along with rising Covid-19 numbers. Japan’s Nikkei this morning slid 200 points or 0.7% to 28,169 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 2.4% to 27,279. The Shanghai Composite was 0.6% lower at 3,529. Around the markets The pound: US$1.3785, down 0.12% Gold: US$1.797, down 0.37% Silver: US$25.91, down 0.88% Bitcoin: US$33,208, down 4.5% 6.50am: Early Markets - Asia / Australia Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly lower on Thursday as Beijing stepped up oversight on Chinese listings in the U.S., many of whom are tech companies. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on July 2 asked ride-hailing giant Didi to stop accepting new user registrations, citing China's Cybersecurity Law, a sweeping piece of legislation implemented in 2017. Subsequently, CAC said Didi's app has serious violations of laws and regulations pertaining to the collection of personal information. The Shanghai Composite in China dipped 0.73% on Thursday while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slumped 2.45% In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.68% and South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.79%. Shares in Australia gained, with the S&P/ASX 200 trading 0.20% higher. READ OUR ASX REPORT HERE