The FTSE is struggling to make any real progress, as the new trading week gets underway.

Despite a promising start to the session, the London index has failed to build on the early gains, instead slipping back into the red. However, there’s certainly no shortage of good news with recommendations for the UK banking sector being well received by investors, and adding 3% to the Barclays’ share price. Renewed hopes of a cease fire in Libya are causing some downward pressure on crude prices – a move that should offer some broad-based relief. Given the general absence of local earnings news or economic releases this morning, perhaps the relatively limited lack of direction can be understood, although with geopolitical factors still in play – North Africa and the ongoing situation in  Japan being the highest in profile – expectations are that the sideways trading won’t last.

The US is unlikely to bring much fresh direction in the short-term, although the earnings season kicks off with numbers from Alcoa. The fact that the US government has at least temporarily avoided a shut-down over budget disputes on Friday may help inject a little more confidence into the market in the short-term, but again, so long as uncertainty prevails then markets will rightly remain wary. We’re currently expecting the Dow to open around 10 points higher at 10,390.