London pre-open: Stocks seen a little higher amid holiday-thinned volumes

London stocks are expected to open 14 points higher at 6269, with little due in the way of market-moving news and many traders still away from their desks for the Christmas holiday.

There are no major UK data releases scheduled for release, but in US, the goods trade balance is at 1330 GMT, while S&P/Case-Shiller house prices are at 1400 GMT and consumer confidence is at 1500 GMT.

Dairy Crest confirms sale of dairies operations

Dairy Crest confirmed it had completed the sale of its Dairies operations to Müller UK & Ireland Group.

Chief Executive Mark Allen said the sale was a “transformational moment for Dairy Crest and the wider dairy industry and helps bring much needed stability to the UK dairy sector”.

"Dairy Crest can now focus on growth, through both our branded cheese and spreads operations and new revenue streams from manufacturing products for the fast-growing

global infant formula market," he said.