London pre-open: CPI inflation in focus on both sides of the Pond

(ShareCast News) - London's top flight index is being called to start the day slightly higher ahead of the release of consumer price inflation data on both sides of the Pond later this afternoon, as markets continue to try and second-guess when the the US central should and will tighten policy again.FTSE 100 is expected to start the day 18 points higher from Monday's closing mark of 6,151.40.Readings on 'core' Inflation in both the US and the UK continued to be higher than over on the Continent, as one might expect given that the economic cycle is at a relatively more advance stage in both geographies.Indeed, on some measures underlying price pressures in the US are at levels which historically at least have been tended to see the Federal Reserve hike rates more quickly. Yet worries about China,in particular, but even advanced economies such as Japan, continue to feed worries among policy-makers over what might lie 'just around the corner'.In any case, for the moment economists seem at a loss on how to explain the drop seen in the in the so-called 'velocity' of money and, more importantly, how to fix it, which is the chief factor weighing on growth and interest rates.On Monday, HSBC strategists waded into the debate cautioning that the current spread between the yields on two and ten year benchmark US Treasury notes near its lowest since December 2007 might constitute a recession signal.Consumer prices in the US are forecast to rise from a 0.9% year-on-year clip in March to 1.1% in April, with 'core' inflation dipping from 2.2% to 2.1%.Headline CPI is seen steady in the UK in April at 0.5% with 'core' inflation unchanged at a relatively more subdued 1.5% in comparison to a year ago.In other news, cable is higher by 0.54% to 1.4478 on the heels of the latest Brexit poll.At last count, supporters of the 'remain' camp held a 15-point lead over 'leave' , according to the latest poll conducted by ORB for the Telegraph and published on Monday.Overnight, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Composite Index as of 07:32 BST was down 0.14% at 2,846.735.Telecoms giant turns a corner?Vodafone's organic sales growth returned to growth and beat expectations after a strong performance in the fourth quarter. Thanks to stabilisation in Europe and acceleration in Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific, organic service revenue grew 2.5% in the three months to 31 March, well ahead of forecast 1.5%.Land Securities posted a "strong" set of preliminary results, showing asset values, revenue and earnings all increasing in the 12 months to 31 March. The commercial property giant reported a basic net asset value per share of 1,482p - up 10.3% - and an adjusted diluted net asset value per share of 1,434p - an increase of 10.9%.Diversified Irish investment group DCC said annual pre-tax profits soared 47% to £216.3m. Revenues were flat at £10bn, largely due to lower oil prices, while operating profit from continuing operations increased by 35.5% to £300.5m thanks driven predominantly to acquisitions completed during the year.