LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: Stocks Call Lower As Glencore Settles Dispute

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are set to open marginally lower on Wednesday, as market attention shifts from the Trump-Kim summit and Brexit legislation to economic data and central bank decisions.UK inflation readings are due Wednesday morning at 0930 BST, while after the London close, the US Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision at 1900 BST. The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan follow on Thursday and Friday, respectively.In early corporate news, miner Glencore's subsidiary Katanga Mining reached an agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo's state mining firm Gecamines, over a dispute concerning the Kamoto joint venture.Meanwhile, the Bank of Ireland outlined its strategic plan and financial targets to 2021, and luxury brand Mulberry reported a drop in pretax profit despite a slight rise in revenue.IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 8.61 points lower at 7,695.20 on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.4% at 7,703.81 on Tuesday."At 0930 BST the latest British inflation data will be released. The headline annual CPI rate is expected to rise to 2.5% from 2.4%, while the core CPI rate is tipped to hold steady at 2.1%. The British worker has been enjoying a rise in real income lately, as the average earnings have been outstripping the cost of living. Yesterday we saw average earnings grow at a slower pace, and a rise in the cost of living would be a double negative for consumers," said David Madden, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3358 early Wednesday, marginally higher than USD1.3354 at the London equities close on Tuesday.On the London Stock Exchange, Glencore's subsidiary Katanga Mining has reached an agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo's state mining firm Gecamines.Katanga has been taking part in a joint venture in the DRC with Gecamines called the Kamoto Copper Co, which has been struggling with capital deficiencies. Katanga has a 75% stake and Gecamines 25% in the partnership.Under the settlement, Katanga will pay USD150 million to Gecamines related to "historical" commercial disputes and a further USD41 million related to outstanding expenses in the Kamoto exploration programme.Further, Glencore said Kamoto will waiver its entitlement to replacement reserves and incurred drilling costs on Gecamines' behalf, amounting to a total of USD342 million. The Bank of Ireland outlined its strategic plan to have, by 2021, a return on tangible equity in excess of 10%, maintain its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio at 13% at least on a regulatory basis, and to have a dividend payout ratio of 50% of earnings.The bank said it is currently trading in line with expectations for 2018 so far.Luxury handbag maker Mulberry Group said pretax profit on a reported basis was GBP6.9 million for the year to the end of March, down from GBP7.5 million the year before, due to increased investment and costs in new businesses in Asia, as well as store closure costs.This was on revenue of GBP169.7 million, up 1.0% from GBP168.1 million the year before. In addition, Mulberry said it has entered an agreement with SHK Holdings Ltd to form a new entity to operate its South Korean business.With the conclusion of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the UK's Brexit Bill vote, both on Tuesday, attention now turns to economic affairs.The Federal Open Market Committee is due to conclude its two-day policy meeting and announce its decision at 1900 BST. This will be followed by a press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who will provide fresh economic projections.Analysts agree that an interest-rate increase from the US central bank appears to be a certainty, but noted the dot plot forecasts will be under close scrutiny to determine how many additional rate hikes will occur this year.Oxford Economics expects the FOMC to take another gradual step towards normalizing monetary policy with a 25-basis point hike in the fed funds rate target range to 1.75% to 2.0%."Today's [inflation] data would suggest that another rate hike is likely, and indeed this outcome is priced by the futures markets," said Thomas Wells, manager of the Smith & Williams Global Inflation-Linked Bond Fund.A report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed another modest increase in consumer prices in the US in the month of May. The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2% in May, matching the increase seen in April as well as economist estimates.In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending flat, the S&P 500 up 0.2% and Nasdaq Composite closing 0.6% higher.On Thursday, the European Central Bank may signal that it is getting closer to winding down its QE program.The Bank of Japan is expected to make no changes to its monetary policy settings when it ends a two-day review on Friday.In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.6%.Also in the economic events calendar on Wednesday has eurozone industrial production data at 1000 BST and US producer prices at 1330 BST.