London pre-open: Stocks seen lower ahead of inflation figures

London stocks were set to open a little lower on Tuesday as investors looked to the release of UK inflation figures.

The FTSE 100 was expected to start 14 points lower than Monday’s close at 6,186.

“Inflation in the UK has been well below target for most of the last two years, with the sharp declines in oil prices being a particular drag on prices. Even the core number though, which strips out the direct impact of volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco moves, has been well short of the Bank of England’s 2% target and even this month is only expected to rise to 1.3%,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the BoE is in no rush to start raising interest rates, especially given the growing number of risks to the UK economy this year, most notably the EU referendum in June, slowing global growth and the ever-loosening monetary policies of other major central banks which until recently has meant the pound has remained very strong.”

The inflation figures are at 0930 BST, with CPI, RPI and PPI all due.

Galliford says costs of fixing Edinburgh schools ‘not material’

Construction firm Galliford Try said the cost of its exposure to the Edinburgh schools scandal was “not material to the group”.

The company said it had contractual responsibility for four of the 17 schools that have been closed due to defective building work. It added that remedial work to fix those four schools was nearing completion.

The schools were built by Miller Construction, acquired by Galliford in 2014.

Recruitment firm Michael Page said first quarter gross profit grew 3.6% in constant currencies, despite the timing of Easter and the challenging market conditions in several of its larger markets, including Greater China, the UK and Brazil.

The company saw particularly good performances in the US, and Continental Europe, which now account for over 40% of the group.

FTSE 100 hospitality group Whitbread announced the departure of Christopher Rogers on Tuesday, from the posts of managing director of coffee shop chain Costa and executive director of the firm’s board.

The board confirmed he would be stepping down following their next meeting on 20 April.

It also revealed Dominic Paul had been appointed to succeed Rogers at Costa, taking up the role on 6 June.