Vladimir Putin has demanded that the European Union re-open a trade pact with Ukraine, threatening immediate retaliatory measures should Kiev implement any part of the deal.

As of 09:08 the FTSE 100 was to be seen moving lower by 19 points to 6,620.

Also weighing on stocks at the margin was a weaker than expected print for Japanese consumer price inflation (CPI) in August. The headline inflation rate slowed to 3.3 per cent year-on-year from 3.4 per cent, with the ex-fresh food measure down to 3.1 per cent from 3.3% (consensus: 3.2%).

“Softer Japanese CPI data reinforced fears of more BoJ easing and hurt the JPY,” analysts at UnicreditResearch said.

For his part Alpari UK market analyst Joshua Mahony noted that: “with Japanese CPI pulling back, a German consumer confidence survey expecting to fall, and the UK likely to announce their willingness to act in Iraq, there is little to be positive about today.

“Stripping out the 2 per cent rise that was attributed to the sales tax hike in April, the subsequent figure of 1.3 per cent is the lowest level since October 2013 and proves that the recent trend is no short term phenomenon.”

Friday’s focus will also be very much on an anticipated Commons vote on UK involvement in a war against the “Islamic State”.

The outcome is widely expected to support participation and comes after Obama pledged the US’s support earlier this week.

US gross domestic product (GDP) rose an annualised 4.6 per cent in the second quarter, compared to an earlier estimate of 4.2 per cent released 28 August, a report due out from the Commerce Department on Friday afternoon is expected to show.

Just yesterday Barlays Research raised its tracking estimate for US third quarter growth to 2.8 per cent from 2.6 per cent.

A separate report from the University of Michigan is expected to show an increase in US consumer confidence in September. The sentiment index may have risen to 84.8 from 84.6 a month earlier, according to analysts’ estimates.

Precious metals miners lead gains, Sports Direct off

Fresnillo, Centamin, Polymetal and Randgold Resources began the morning session with slight gains as gold futures advanced in reaction to increased risk aversion on the back of geopolitical concerns.

Sports Direct is off by 4 per cent a day after it was disclosed that executive deputy chairman Mike Ashley has essentially taken a punt on shares of Tesco, with Goldman Sachs on the other side of the trade no less.

Slower-than-expected growth in its solutions division and challenging market conditions in its currency division have forced Security documents designer and producer De La Rue to lower its expectations for the current and next financial year. The company said it expects operating profit and underlying profit before tax for the year to be £20m lower than originally estimated. JP Morgan has reduced its target price from 862p to 600p and downgraded the stock to underweight. Numis cut its target price to 540p downgrading from add to hold.

In other company news, ground engineering firm Keller Group has announced that Justin Atkinson, the company’s chief executive (CEO), will retire from his role at the end of 2015. The group has confirmed it has already started a selection process to find a replacement for the outgoing CEO, who first joined the company in 1990.

The London Stock Exchange has obtained a take-up of 97.07 per cent on its rights issue to finance a planned $2.7bn takeover of US index compiler Frank Russell.

FTSE 100 – Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 766.00p +2.41%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,336.00p +2.05%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,182.00p +0.98%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 732.00p +0.69%
British Land Co (BLND) 695.50p +0.58%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,123.00p +0.58%
St James’s Place (STJ) 722.50p +0.49%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,028.00p +0.49%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 649.60p +0.48%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,356.00p +0.44%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Sports Direct International (SPD) 620.50p -2.67%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,004.00p -1.67%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,569.00p -1.57%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,641.00p -1.56%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,507.00p -1.53%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 254.10p -1.51%
3i Group (III) 383.10p -1.26%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,313.00p -1.13%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,665.00p -1.11%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,012.00p -1.08%

Source: ShareCast