London pre-open: Stocks seen higher after Monday's losses

London stocks are expected to open higher on Tuesday following losses in the previous session.

The FTSE 100 is called to open 28 points higher than Monday’s close at 6,323.

“Initial positive sentiment was quickly steam rolled over yesterday morning as fears of US monetary tightening quickly overwhelmed the bulls,” said Jonathan Sudaria, a night dealer at London Capital Group.

“However, the argument that a weaker pound and euro should lend some support to those respective economies, and the fact that a US rate hike should be an indicator of strength for the US economy, still exists and we’re set to see traders trying to claw back some of yesterday’s losses on the open.”

There are no major UK data releases due but in the US, the import price index is at 1330 GMT, while wholesale inventories are at 1500 GMT.

ITV on track for strong 2015

ITV said it’s on track for double digit growth in full year profit, after posting a strong third quarter book.

In a trading update for the nine months to 30 September, the broadcaster said total revenue had increased by 13% from 2014 to £2.3bn, driven by a 7% rise in broadcast and online revenue of £1.5bn.

Broadcast advertising revenue took the lion’s share, with net advertising revenue on the ITV Family of channels up 6% to £1.22bn.

“We're on track for another year of double digit profit growth as we continue to strengthen ITV in the UK and internationally,” said ITV chief executive Adam Crozier.

Global plumbing supplier Wolseley said 2016 first quarter revenues were up 5.3% to £3.5bn while trading profits increased 6% to £250m. At constant exchange rates the rise was 3.3%.

Chief executive Ian Meakins said market conditions were “mixed” with the company achieving “good growth” in decent US commercial and residential markets, partly offset by weaker industrial markets, which account for about 15% of US revenue.

Nordic growth was also positive as the construction market continued to improve but revenue declined in the UK where the markets “remained challenging”

As well as announcing strong first-half earnings growth, National Grid confirmed rumours that it has begun to look at potentially selling a majority stake in its gas distribution business and returning the proceeds to shareholders via a likely special dividend.

Adjusted operating profit rose 14% to £1.84bn, while profit before tax jumped 21% to £1.37bn, with EPS up 22% at the adjusted level to 28.4p.

Headline profits benefited from an excellent performance from interconnectors and property activities, which are strongly weighted towards the first half.