(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly lower on Thursday, with sentiment hurt by poor US earnings overnight, while eyes remain on the yen which continues to lose ground.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 4.9 points lower, 0.1%, at 8.220.43 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed down 22.46 points, 0.3%, at 8,225.33 on Wednesday.

In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 2.0%. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was down 0.9% and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.7%.

The tepid trade in Asia came despite a decent session in New York on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended marginally higher, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%.

Poorly received earnings from Micron Technology after the closing bell hurt sentiment.

In the quarter ended May 30, the Boise, Idaho computer memory and data storage producer saw revenue of USD6.81 billion, up 82% from USD3.75 billion. Net income came in at USD332 million, swinging from a loss of USD1.90 billion a year prior.

"The revenue forecast for the current quarter just met analyst expectations of USD7.6 billion for the current quarter. Yes, anything less than fantastic is not good enough when your share price got multiplied by three in just about 18 months," Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2633 early Thursday, up from USD1.2624 at the time of the London equities close Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0694, rising from USD1.0678. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY160.43, down from JPY160.66.

The economic calendar on Thursday has a US gross domestic product reading at 1330 BST, after eurozone consumer confidence at 1000 BST.

On Friday, all eyes will be on the latest core personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge, the Fed's preferred measure.

The yen edged back slightly after hitting a 38-year low against the dollar, putting investors on alert for a possible intervention by Japanese authorities.

The Japanese unit's latest retreat came as uncertainty surrounded the Federal Reserve's timetable for cutting interest rates, and the Bank of Japan's caution in tightening monetary policy.

Focus has turned to Tokyo, where Vice Finance Minister Masato Kanda said earlier in the week that authorities were keeping a close eye on movements in forex markets and were ready to step in with yen support 24 hours a day.

Their determination was put to the test after the yen fell to 160.87 per dollar late Wednesday – its weakest since 1986 – as US Treasury yields spiked.

Brent oil was quoted at USD84.28 a barrel, up from USD84.21. Gold was quoted at USD2,299.27 an ounce, up from USD2,297.70.

In Thursday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from Rolex watch seller Watches of Switzerland and electricals retailer Currys.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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