London pre-open: Stocks seen higher as investors eye Autumn Statement

London stocks are called to open higher on Wednesday following a late recovery in the US, as investors await the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 23 points higher than Tuesday’s close at 6,300.

“With US markets having to contend with a shortened week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the rebound in energy prices did prevent US stocks following their European counterparts lower, as we await a data deluge of US data later this afternoon, including the latest durable goods numbers for October as well as the latest inflation data,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Ahead of that though, all eyes will be on the Autumn Statement.

“While today’s Autumn Statement is likely to be more important for political reasons than economic ones, particularly the politically difficult changes to tax credits, this month’s horrific events in Paris have shifted the focus somewhat towards a rethinking of the planned reductions in the Defence and Home Office budgets, which could well be significant for companies who have procurement contracts with the UK government, which has been reflected in the recent rebounds in defence related stocks like BAE Systems and Cobham,” said Hewson.

There is also a deluge of data due from the US, with initial jobless claims, durable goods orders and personal income and spending at 1330 GMT. New home sales and University of Michigan sentiment are at 1500 GMT.

Thomas Cook posts first profit since 2010

After a five-year holiday, Thomas Cook reported its first profit after tax since 2010. The travel and leisure business saw a marginal 1% lift in group revenue over the previous year, to £7.83bn, with underlying EBIT up 11% to £310m.

Profit after tax was where the real news lay, with a £177m increase to sit at £19m for the year.

“Despite turbulence in some of our destinations, the underlying business performed in line with our plans at the start of the year, demonstrating its greater resilience”, said chief executive Peter Fankhauser.

In light of the improved performance, Thomas Cook expected to pay a dividend in early 2017 off next year’s earnings.

Betfair said its merger with Paddy Power is on track to be completed in the first quarter of 2016, with all regulatory filings submitted, and shareholder documentation due to be published on 27 November.