City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 10 points from yesterday's close of 6,283, tracking gains seen in Asia overnight.

In the US, the major equity indices finished close to their best levels of the day after recovering almost completely from the previous day's swoon.

This followed the release of an in-line reading on the ISM Institute's service sector purchasing managers' index.

International economic announcements today include the German construction PMI, while in the UK new car registrations are on the agenda, along with the BRC shop price index.

In UK company news, financial service company Hargreaves Lansdown on Wednesday posted record revenues and profits for the last half of 2012 driven by a boost in client numbers. The FTSE 100 company said revenue was up 24% to £140.3m while profit before tax rose 30% to £93.7m Chief Executive Officer Ian Gorham said Hargreaves flew in the face of a global financial crisis with a expanding customer base, particularly in its investment service Vantage which grew by 21,000 clients to 446,000 over the period.

International infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has announced that BK Gulf, its joint venture in Dubai, has been awarded a £64m mechanical and electrical engineering contract to work on a project at Dubai International Airport. The contract, which has been awarded by the Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), is to install the electrical, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing and fire protection systems in the new airport concourse facility that will also include new aircraft stands and passenger boarding lounges.

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