(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Wednesday, as investors nervously wait for a US inflation print, as higher oil prices stoke fears of rising prices.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 35.5 points, 0.5%, at 7,492.03 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 30.66 points, 0.4%, at 7,527.53 on Tuesday.

Late Tuesday, BP said that its chief executive Bernard Looney has resigned "with immediate effect", after admitting that he had not been "fully transparent" about historical relationships with colleagues.

"Bernard Looney has notified the company that he has resigned as chief executive officer with immediate effect," the company said in a statement, adding that finance chief Murray Auchincloss would act as interim CEO.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.0%

Traders were cautious ahead of an incoming US consumer price inflation print on Wednesday which could impact expectations around the future of interest rates in the world's largest economy.

According to FXStreet-cited consensus, headline CPI is expected to accelerate to 3.6% on an annual basis in August from 3.2% in July.

Moreover, Axel Rudolph at online trading platform IG said: "Floods in Libya have led to oil supply disruptions with its price surging to 10-month highs amid expectations of another US crude inventory drop."

Brent oil was trading at USD92.31 a barrel early Wednesday, higher than USD92.26 late Tuesday.

The rise brought into focus that the battle to tame inflation is far from over.

In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.0%.

Producer prices in Japan rose 0.3% in August from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Japan. Market consensus had expected an unchanged reading of 0.1% from July.

Annually, producer price inflation stood at 3.2% in August, ticking down from a revised 3.4% in July, which was initially reported at 3.6%.

Producer price inflation's recent peak was 10.6% in December 2022, and it has steadily declined since.

In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down marginally. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.7%.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2489 early Wednesday, higher than USD1.2477 at the London equities close on Tuesday.

The euro traded at USD1.0746 early Wednesday, higher than USD1.0729 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY147.37, higher versus JPY147.13.

Gold was quoted at USD1,911.11 an ounce early Wednesday, lower than USD1,912.01 on Tuesday.

In Wednesday's UK corporate calendar, there are full-year results from Ricardo, Redrow and Tullow Oil, as well as a trading statement from On The Beach Group.

The economic calendar has EU industrial production data at 1000 BST.

By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter

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