London pre-open: Stocks seen down after weak US session; Fed minutes in focus

London stocks were set to fall at the open on Thursday following a downbeat session on Wall Street, as investors mull the latest Federal Reserve minutes.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 70 points lower at 7,099.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Yesterday was a mixed day for markets in Europe with little in the way of a significant driver one way or the other, while US markets also slipped back over increasing uncertainty about increasing cases of the delta variant, not only across the US, but across the globe, and in Asia specifically.

"Further weakness in Asia markets over increasing uneasiness about China’s regulatory crackdown as well as the uncertainty over rising Delta cases looks set to feed into further uncertainty as we look towards a lower European open.

"Last night’s Fed minutes didn’t add anything significant to the sum of overall knowledge about the central banks future intentions with respect to monetary policy that wasn’t already known beforehand.

"If anything, the contents of the minutes were on the dovish side, with references to the lack of substantial further progress, but then they would have been given that the minutes pre-dated the July jobs data, as well as the upward revisions to the June jobs report."

Hewson said the minutes certainly don’t alter the expectation that a taper is on its way. "It’s accepted wisdom now that discussions on a taper are likely to start soon, with a slowdown in purchases starting sometime in Q4, despite concerns about some weakness in the more recent data, particularly retail sales and consumer confidence."

In corporate news, gambling operator Rank Group reported a £93m operating loss as Covid restrictions closed its venues.

The company said annual net gaming revenue almost halved to £329.6m, from £629.7m. Losses compared with a profits of £21.5m a year ago the owner of Mecca bingo halls said.