FTSE 100 seen lower after US and Asian stocks decline on Fed statement

The FTSE 100 is projected to decline 0.6% in early trade today, tracking losses in US and Asia.
The Federal Reserve acknowledged the weakness in the ongoing economic recovery and announced it would start buying government bonds in the latest attempt to bolster the economy. That, however, failed to get the markets out of the red with the main stock market indexes in the US posting losses.
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) and engineering group Smiths Group (LON:SMIN) added just over 2% to take the lead among the blue chips. Another pharmaceutical companies Shire (LON:SHP) and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) advanced 1.8% and 1.3% respectively. Food manufacturer Unilever (LON:ULVR) rose 1%. No other FTSE 100 constituent added 1% or more.

Tour operator TUI Travel (LON:TT) was at the bottom of the pile with a 10% loss. InterContinental Hotels (LON:IHG), base metal miner Vedanta Resources (LON:VED), cruise operator Carnival Corp (LON:CCL) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) shed 4%. Engineering firm Invensys (LON:ISYS) and oil and gas supermajor BP (LON:BP) lost a little more than 3%. Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata (LON:XTA) declined 2.9% and Essar Energy (LON:ESSR) dropped 2.6%, as did airline British Airways (LON:BAY).

US stocks closed in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.5%, the broader S&P 500 index slid 0.6% and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite slipped 1.25%. Futures for the Dow Jones index currently have it starting 0.8% below Tuesday’s closing level.
Asian markets were in selling mode today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.35%, South Korea’s KOSPI was down 1.3%, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.7% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.8%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index went against the tide, rising 0.25%.
Commodities
Oil prices were in decline. September Brent Crude slid to US$78.92/barrel, while US light, sweet crude for September delivery retreated to US$79.67/barrel.
Gold declined against after returning above the US$1,200/oz level, sliding to US$1,198/oz. Silver and platinum followed, dropping to US$18.19/oz and US$1,538/oz respectively.
Base metals moved lower with copper and nickel declining to US$3.29/lb and US$9.99/lb respectively. Zinc did better, improving to US$0.94/lb.
US trade balance and mortgage applications will be out today, as well as inflation data from the Bank of England and the UK’s claimant count and unemployment rate.