London pre-open: FTSE to open lower as Russian sanctions agreed

The agreement of a new wave of sanctions against Russia is expected to push the FTSE into the red on Tuesday morning.

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 17 points lower than Monday's close of 6,834.77.

In addition to the sanctions, which will not be implemented until it can be determined whether the ceasefire agreed between Russia and Ukraine is working, the focus will also continue to be on the upcoming Scottish referendum, as well as the release of some UK data and the unveiling of the new Apple iPhone.

To take note of, money markets have already pushed back the timing of the first rate hike in the Uk to August 2015.

"Once again today, things are looking fairly quiet from an economic data standpoint," Alpari UK market analyst Craig Erlam said.

"The focus will undoubtedly be on the UK today, with the BRC having already released retail sales data for last month, industrial and manufacturing production figures being released this morning, NIESR releasing its GDP estimate for the three months to August and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaking in Liverpool."

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), high street sales were given a lift by the back to school rush, helping like-for-like sales to rise 1.3% in August compared to a year earlier. However, the figure was slower than last year, when like-for-like sales rose 1.8% on the year before.

Erlam continued: "Even with all of this, I do question just how much investors are going to respond with many appearing far more concerned with the Scottish referendum vote in nine days. Carney's comments could provide some support for the pound, which has pretty much been in freefall over the last couple of months.

"Any suggestion that the central bank may be tempted to raise rates this year, for example, would surely reverse some of the declines seen, although how much is difficult to say. A referendum with an uncertain outcome, both in terms of voting results and what a "yes" vote would actually mean, may be seen as a far more important issue than the exact timing of the inevitable first rate hike to investors right now."

In company news, sales growth continued encouragingly in the second-quarter at hotelier and restaurant owner Whitbread, but the rate of like-for-like sales slowed very slightly. Like-for-like sales were up 6.8% in the period from end-May until 14 August, compared to the 6.9% rate of growth in the first three months of the year.

FTSE 250-listed diamond miner Petra Diamonds announced the recovery of an "exceptional" 232,08-carat white diamond at its Cullinan mine in South Africa. "The stone is a D colour Type II diamond of exceptional size and clarity, and is a magnificent example of the large, high quality diamonds for which the mine is known," the company said.

Meanwhile, home electronics retailer Dixons Carphone said its integration was progressing well as it reported strong trading in the three months to August. The group, which was formed from the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse on 7 August, said its new model of Carphone concessions inside Dixons shops was performing ahead of plan.