Wall Street is poised for a steady opening.

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The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:.FTSE) is 1.21% lower at 5,100.59 at 10:32 AM.

For those looking for guidance for spread betting the FTSE 100 Simon Denham at spread betting providers Capital Spreads says the following:

"The aggressive sell-off (on the Dow Jones Industrial) followed through to Asian trade overnight, and the Europeans are suffering as a result too.

"The headlines have not been conducive of investing in shares over the last few days and traders are wary of the next possible leg down, but for now at least the 5000 area is propping up the FTSE 100, and the same can be said for the Dow, which is finding support from the psychological 10000 level.

"Earlier weakness seems to have subsided for now and if the bulls do get the upper-hand, we could see a retest of resistance around 5200 and even 5250 could be a possibility. Such a move will bring us back over the 20-day moving average that has proved too much of the FTSE recently, but a retest of this area and a few closes above might be enough to persuade investors that the market still offers value at these levels. To the downside, the recent low around 4900 is key and a break below here could open up further losses to 4800.

"BP’s woes continue, as analysts desperately attempt to calculate the cost of the spill so far and the potential liabilities going forward. After yesterday’s big hit for the share price, BP’s share are a little lower again this morning with news of the US investigation, and would probably be even lower if it wasn’t for some support coming from the prospect of a takeover. But with so much negativity and so many unknowns surrounding the stock, a take over approach at this time would be mad.

"On the economic data front, we have UK mortgage approvals released this morning followed by some EU inflationary data and then the US-pending home sales number rounds of the day at lunchtime. Things get more exciting on the economic numbers front as we end the week, with employment numbers coming out tomorrow and then ending with the finale of non-farm payrolls on Friday.

Wall Street futures higher

Spread betting positions on the FTSE 100 should be opened with the knowledge that Wall Street futures are all pointing higher.

The FTSE 100 has the habit of following Wall Street movements following the opening bell, but, some commentators are also suggesting that the disconnect between the US markets and European markets are growing.

Wall Street was poised for a steady opening following Tuesday's falls — Dow futures were up 11 points, or 0.1 percent, to 10,030 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 1.5 point to 1,071.

On Tuesday, Wall Street reversed early gains as investors fretted about the implications of oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which President Barack Obama described as the "greatest environmental disaster of its kind in our history."

Worries about the spill were increased Tuesday when the U.S. government said it was starting criminal and civil investigations against BP PLC, Europe's second biggest oil company. That has raised concerns that the sector will now be more tightly regulated.