(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Wednesday, as sentiment in global equities takes a hit amid doubts over the timing of US interest rate cuts following continued robust economic data.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 27.1 points, or 0.3%, at 7,907.99 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 17.53 points, 0.2%, at 7,935.09 on Tuesday.

A senior Federal Reserve official confirmed that she recently raised her prediction for interest rates over the longer term due to the enduring strength of the US economy.

At the most recent rate meeting in March, Fed policymakers voted to hold interest rates at their current elevated levels, while pencilling in three rate cuts this year and lifting their expectation for where rates will settle over the long run to 2.6%.

Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester, who is one of 12 policymakers with a vote on US monetary policy this year, said that she had hiked her own forecast, to 3.0% from 2.5%.

San Francisco boss Mary Daly said that three cuts was "a very reasonable baseline" but added that economic growth "is going strong, so there's really no urgency to adjust the rate".

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2579 early Wednesday, higher than USD1.2564 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro traded at USD1.0775 early Wednesday, up slightly from USD1.0771 late Tuesday.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.0%, the S&P 500 down 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.0%.

In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 1.3%.

China's overall business activity grew at a faster pace in March, according to survey data on Wednesday, with both services and manufacturing expanding.

The Caixin services purchasing managers' index rose to 52.7 points in March from 52.5 in February. Coming in higher above the 50-point no-change mark, it shows growth accelerated marginally from the prior month.

The composite PMI - which measures services and manufacturing - also rose to 52.7 from 52.5.

Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY151.59 early Wednesday, essentially flat against JPY151.60 on Tuesday.

An upswing in Japan's services sector in March helped to boost overall private sector growth, data confirmed.

The au Jibun Bank services PMI rose to 54.1 in March from 52.9 in February, indicating a robust expansion in activity among Japan's services companies. It was slightly below the prior flash estimate of 54.9, however.

The composite PMI, which measures services and manufacturing together, rose to 51.7 from 50.6.

Gold was quoted at USD2,284.33 an ounce early Wednesday, higher than USD2,266.55 on Tuesday.

Brent oil was trading at USD88.98 a barrel early Wednesday, higher than USD88.11 late Tuesday.

In Wednesday's UK corporate calendar, Hilton Food and investment trust Impax Environmental report full-year results.

In the economic calendar, there are eurozone consumer price inflation and unemployment data reading at 1000 BST. The latest ADP US jobs report is released at 1315 BST, before a pair of US PMIs at 1445 BST and 1500.

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News senior reporter

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