London pre-open: Stocks seen higher; Taylor Wimpey reports strong H2

Stocks in London were set to open in the black on Monday as positive sentiment from last week rolls over.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 55 points higher than Friday’s close at 6,785.

Oanda’s Craig Erlam said: “European equity markets are poised to open higher on Monday as investors pick up where they left off last week, with risk assets catching strong bids and safe havens getting crushed.

“I can’t help but think people are once again getting a little carried away. A Trump Presidency has suddenly gone from being the least desirable outcome, to say the least, for the markets to being responsible for the Dow soaring to record highs and bullish hysteria sweeping through the markets. While he may appear to be dialling down some of his more radical protectionist policies which allows people to focus more on his pro-growth plans, markets may still be getting a little ahead of themselves. We still need to wait and see how he’s going to work with Congress and how much fiscal slack he’s going to be afforded in order to fund these ambitious stimulus plans.

In corporate news, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said the UK housing market remained resilient, despite the implications of Brexit still being unclear. The company said trading during the second half of this year had been strong.

“Looking ahead, we remain confident that our business model and strategy focused on managing the business through the cycle positions us to perform well through all market conditions,” Taylor said in a trading statement.

Irish distribution and business support services company DCC’s half year revenue rose as it continues its expansion strategy, while it expects both operating profit and adjusted earnings per share to be “significantly” ahead of expectations.

Revenue for the six months ended 30 September, excluding DCC Energy, climbed 13.3% to £6.59bn, compared to last year, while operating profit increased by 33.3% to £117.8m, or up 26.5% on a constant currency basis.

Legal & General said its retirement sales had risen by roughly £1.3bn in the last month and a half, boosted by the new £1.1bn buyout of a pension scheme from Rolls-Royce. Total retirement sales in the year to date have risen to £6.7bn, up from £5.4bn towards the end of September.

The possible strategic combination involving FTSE 100 company Standard Life’s Indian joint venture, HDFC Life, hit a roadblock on Monday, with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority expressing reservations about the scheme of amalgamation between HDFC Life, Max Life, Max Financial Services and Max India in its current form.

It said HDFC Life continued to believe the arrangement was in compliance with all applicable laws, and it was working with the Max companies to make suitable representations to the regulator.