(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open slightly lower on Tuesday, with the mood likely to be cautious ahead of US consumer price inflation data.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 16.0 points, 0.2%, at 7.409.83 on Tuesday. The index of London large-caps closed up 65.28 points, 0.9%, at 7,425.83 on Monday.

The US annual consumer inflation rate is expected to have cooled to 3.3% in October, from 3.7% in September, according to consensus cited by FXStreet.

Consumer prices are forecast to rise by 0.1% in October month-on-month, which it noted would be a meaningful deceleration from the 0.4% print in September. However, core inflation is expected to be 0.3% month-on-month for a second consecutive month, and remain at 4.1% on an annual basis.

"The waning supply chain disruptions, the loosening US jobs market, a further fall in gasoline prices and the expectation of a decline in rents are among the major factors that could help inflation ease – after a more than 1.5-year aggressive policy tightening from the [Federal Reserve] of course," said Swissquote Bank's Ipek Ozkardeskaya.

Before the US inflation print, there is UK unemployment and wage inflation data due shortly.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2273 early Tuesday, higher than USD1.2264 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro traded unchanged at USD1.0696. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY151.71, up versus JPY151.59.

In the US on Monday, Wall Street saw a muted close, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.

"While the US economic data is expected to be more or less well-behaved, investors are fully aware that fluctuations in inflation, especially top-side beats, are an ongoing risk to markets. So even the soft landing crew was reluctant to push the envelope on US stocks ahead of a possibly market-moving event," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.8%.

Gold was quoted at USD1,945.71 an ounce early Tuesday, little changed from USD1,945.38 on Monday.

Brent oil was trading at USD82.73 a barrel, edging higher than USD82.39.

Tuesday's UK corporate calendar has annual results from tobacco firm Imperial Brands and half-year numbers from telecommunications firm Vodafone Group and money transfer company Wise.

By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter

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