(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open lower on Thursday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell revealed little on the US rates outlook in a speech on Wednesday, and after tepid inflation data from China.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 16.2 points lower, 0.2%, at 7,385.52 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed down 8.32 points, or 0.1%, at 7,401.72 on Wednesday.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.5%. The Shanghai Composite in China was down 0.1%, however. The Hang Seng was 0.4% lower, though Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.3%.

China slipped back into deflation in October, highlighting the work officials have in reviving still-sluggish demand in the world's number two economy.

The consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, fell 0.2% on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The index had been unchanged year-on-year in September and edged up 0.1% in August.

In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.1%, though the S&P 500

and Nasdaq Composite both added 0.1%.

The US Federal Reserve is likely done raising interest rates to tackle inflation but probably won't cut them "in the short term," a senior policymaker said Wednesday.

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker told a conference in Evanston, Illinois, that he felt holding interest rates at their current, restrictive, level was the right course of action.

"With monetary policy, there are always lags. Holding the rate steady will give those lags time to catch up," said Harker, a member of the Fed's rate-setting committee.

Harker spoke after remarks from Fed Chair Powell. Investors were hoping for some guidance from Powell on Wednesday, but he gave little away about interest rates. He did not comment on the outlook for the US economy, either.

The pound traded at USD1.2282 on Thursday morning, down from USD1.2300 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro was largely unmoved at USD1.0705 from USD1.0707. Against the yen, the greenback climbed to JPY151.01 from JPY150.83.

A barrel of Brent sat below the USD80 a barrel mark, something which seemed unlikely after it approached USD94 as traders digested events in the Middle East. A barrel of Brent fetched USD79.78 early Thursday, down from USD80.05 late Wednesday afternoon.

"Crude oil dropped below its 200-day moving average for the first time in months despite geopolitical risks and Opec+'s efforts to support the market. While soft prices amid supply curbs could be seen as a harbinger of a recession, in the US context, lower oil prices mean more money for consumers to spend on other things. The American consumer, in this case, remains incorrigible," SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented.

Gold faded to USD1,949.48 an ounce on Thursday morning in London, from USD1,954.55 at the time of the European equities close on Wednesday.

Thursday's local corporate calendar has half-year results from retailer B&M European Value, third-quarter numbers from pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and a trading statement from Taylor Wimpey.

Already out in Tokyo, SoftBank Group reported a swing to a second-quarter loss for the period to September 30. Its net sales increased 3.4% to JPY1.670 trillion, around USD11.06 billion, though it reported a net loss of JPY788.96 billion, swinging from profit of JPY3.083 trillion a year prior.

SoftBank reported a total loss on investments of JPY264.60 billion in the quarter, swinging from a gain of JPY1.985 a year prior.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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