London pre-open: Stocks seen higher; retail sales disappoint

London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following heavy losses a day earlier, as investors mulled disappointing retail sales data.

The FTSE 100 was called to open up around 15 points.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales unexpectedly fell in October as wet weather and the cost-of-living crisis took their toll.

Retail sales fell 0.3% on the month following a revised 1.1% decline in September, missing expectations for a 0.3% increase.

Heather Bovill, deputy director for surveys and economic indicators at the ONS, said: "Retail sales fell again in October to their lowest level since February 2021 when widespread lockdown restrictions were in place.

"After rebounding in September, fuel sales dipped with increasing prices discouraging customers, while food sales also dropped as consumers prioritised essential goods.

"It was another poor month for household goods and clothes stores with these retailers reporting that cost-of-living pressures, reduced footfall and poor weather hit them hard.

"However, it was a better month for online retailers, the only main sector to report growth in October."

In corporate news, AstraZeneca's Truqap, in combination with Faslodex, has received US FDA approval for treating adults with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with specific biomarker alterations and who previously progressed on endocrine-based therapy.

The approval is based on positive results from a phase three trial, showing a 50% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death when compared to Faslodex alone in patients with relevant biomarker alterations.

AstraZeneca said the approval addressed a significant need in breast cancer treatment, as the biomarker alterations affected up to 50% of advanced HR-positive breast cancer patients who develop resistance to first-line therapies.

Aberdeen-based transport company FirstGroup signed a deal with Hitachi that will see it buy up to 1,000 electric bus batteries as it works towards is decarbonisation targets.

The partnership will see the creation of a new 50:50 joint venture, NextGen Asset Co, to buy the batteries valued at £100m, leased over an eight-year period. In exchange, Hitachi will provide battery and charging management services for 1,000 buses powered by the new batteries.