London pre-open: Stocks seen higher ahead of PMIs

London stocks were set to rise at the open on Wednesday as investors eye the latest reading on the UK services and manufacturing sectors.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 10 points higher at 7,100.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "With markets in the US recovering their equilibrium as well as a positive Asia session today’s European open looks set to be a positive one, with the main focus on the latest flash PMIs for June.

"With the Bank of England set to announce their latest policy decision tomorrow and markets still off balance from last week’s unexpected shift on the Federal Reserve’s policy timeline, economic data now more than ever will become important when it comes to dates as markets look towards the timing of a tapering or paring back of monthly bond purchases.

"Today’s flash PMIs from the UK, as well as France and Germany will give further insight into the reopening progress of the three biggest economies in Europe."

Markit’s manufacturing and services PMIs for the UK are due at 0930 BST.

In corporate news, housebuilder Berkeley reported a rise in annual profits driven by sales of new homes in London and the South East.

Pre-tax profit for the year to April 30 rose 2.9% to £518.1m as revenue rose 14.7% to £2.2bn. The company maintained long-term guidance of a 15% cumulative pre-tax return on equity until April 2025 and said it expected profits in the next two years to be similar to 2021.

AstraZeneca announced that ‘Orpathys’, or savolitinib, has been granted conditional approval in China to treat patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with MET exon 14 skipping alterations who have progressed following prior systemic therapy or were unable to receive chemotherapy.

The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said the approval was on the back of priority review designation by China’s Center for Drug Evaluation, and marked the first global regulatory approval for the “oral, potent, and highly-selective” MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

AstraZeneca entered a licensing deal with Hutchmed in 2011, to jointly develop and commercialise Orpathys.