London pre-open: Stocks seen little changed as investors eye retail sales

London stocks looked set to open little changed ahead of some closely-watched UK data releases.

The FTSE 100 is seen starting four points lower than Thursday’s close at 5,967.

Retail sales are due at 0930 GMT, along with public finances for January.

In the US, the consumer price index is at 1330 GMT.

“UK retail sales reported on Friday are expected to show a 0.8% rise m/m in January after a disappointing drop in December of -1.0%. Equally important could be borrowing figures expected to show a deficit of -13.8bn. The slowdown in the UK economy has pulled the rug out of Chancellor George Osborne’s relatively generous Autumn Statement which saw him scrap plans to cut tax credits,” said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets.

“The risk is that Mr Osborne is forced to raise taxes and/or raid pensions in the next budget after having relied too heavily on economic growth for his spending plans, which will act to further curtail future growth.”

Standard Life reports rise in operating profit

Standard Life said pre-tax operating profits rose 9% to £665m with a £38m reduction in the spread/risk margin and diluted operating EPS of 26.1p.

Assets under administration were up 4% to £307.4bn in volatile markets, driven by net inflows of £6.3bn against £1bn in 2014.

The company said its institutional and wholesale operations continued to meet the needs of clients with net inflows more than doubling to £12.6bn, representing 13% of opening assets under management. It added that 67% of net inflows from outside the UK as it continue to expand its global reach.

The European Commission has given AstraZeneca’s Zurampic drug authorisation for the treatment of gout in the European Union.

It has been approved in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (XOI) for the treatment of hyperuricemia in adult gout patients who have not achieved target serum uric acid levels with an adequate dose of an XOI alone.

Sean Bohen, executive vice president of Global Medicines Development and chief medical officer at AstraZeneca, said: "There has been limited therapy innovation in gout over the last 50 years. With the approval of Zurampic, we are pleased to offer a new treatment option for the many patients who are suffering from the effects of gout and who are not reaching the recommended serum uric acid treatment targets with the current standard of care."

A thirsty clientele saw volumes increase at Coca-Cola HBC in the year ended 31 December, but foreign exchange had an adverse impact on revenues.

Volumes in the FTSE 100 bottler's established markets grew during the year for the first time in five years.

Net sales revenue declined by 2.5% during the year, to €6.35bn (£4.93bn), though the firm blamed currency fluctuations - specifically the Russian rouble - for this.