Spread bettors IG Index expect the FTSE 100 index to open 9 points lower at around 5,444, having closed yesterday at 5,453.1, having earlier hit 4-year highs. Meanwhile, in New York, stocks closed off their highs after the major averages switched course several times during a session dominated by mercurial crude prices and conflicting assessments of the damage to the oil industry from Hurricane Rita. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 24.04 points at 10,443.63, the S&P 500 Index closed up 0.34 points at 1,215.63 and the Nasdaq rose 4.62 points to 2,121.46. And today investors will scrutinise the latest Consumer Confidence data to help gauge Hurricane Katrina's effects on the world's largest economy. The market expects confidence to slump to 94.9 in August from a reading of 105.6 in the previous month. Also of interest will be new home sales for August, with 1.34 mln sales expected in the month, down from 1.41 mln in July. In Asia overnight, the Nikkei ended the morning session down 37.32 points at 13,355.31 while the Hang Seng was off 25.40 at 15,248.91 at midday. And still in Asia, oil prices were higher on fresh concerns that US refineries, battered by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, will not be able to meet demand in the near term. Earlier this morning, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November was up five cents at 65.87 usd a barrel after closing at 65.82 usd in the US yesterday. Back in London, in a relatively quiet day for blue chip news, a trading update from mobile phone operator O2 will attract many investors' attention. Focus will be on recent bid talk, with the group being consistently mooted as a target for Deutsche Telekom. However, yesterday the German group threw a spanner in the works by denying it was in talks to buy the UK-based group. As for current trading, investors expect O2 to confirm it is performing in-line with expectations, but some analysts hope the group may also up its customer growth targets. On the second-line, M&A will also take centre stage when pubs group Mitchells & Butler updates the market on current trading. The group has recently been linked with a joint 2.5 mln stg bid alongside peer Punch Taverns for rival Spirit Group. Turning to the update itself, most analysts agree the group will at least confirm that growth has been maintained after posting a near 5 pct hike in interim profits in May. And investors will be also be scrutinising Pilkington's update for any news on bid moves after the UK glass manufacturer has been touted as a possible target. In media, Emap, the radio and magazine group recently relegated from the FTSE 100, is expected to buck the weaker industry trend when it too issues a trading update. In July, the owner of Heat and Smash Hits magazines said it was on course to hit full year expectations on the back of growth in first quarter radio revenues. The dividend will be in focus when kitchen equipment manufacturer Enodis updates the market. The group said in May that it intended to pay an initial payout in October after a capital restructuring. Elsewhere, small-cap Robert Wiseman will also publish a trading update, with pundits expecting a sharp fall in full year profits following a recent profits warning from peer Arla Foods. In earnings news, a host of smaller companies are penciled into report interim results, including Akers Biosciences, AG Barr, Game Group, and Havelock Europa, while Reed Health Group and White Young Green will publish final numbers. Computer and software retailer Game is tipped to post a widening in interim losses with Evolution flagging a deficit of 5.0 mln stg. Recruitment group Reed Health's figures are also expected to provide gloomy reading following a recent profit warning. In response, Baird Equities slashed its pretax forecast to 1.3 mln stg from 4.5 mln. In broker news oil companies could get a fillip as JP Morgan upgraded BP and Royal Dutch Shell to 'overweight' from 'neutral' to reflect increased commodity price assumptions. In economic news, the market will also have to digest a splattering of data including second-quarter business investment figures, and BBA August mortgage lending. PIN/AFX