London pre-open: Stocks seen lower ahead of US GDP

London stocks were set for a weaker open on Friday as investors looked ahead to some key US economic growth figures.

The FTSE 100 was expected to start 13 points lower than Thursday’s close at 6,973.

There are no major UK data releases due, but in the US, the first release of third-quarter GDP is at 1330 BST, while University of Michigan sentiment is at 1500 BST.

CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said: “The main focus today is likely to be on the first iteration of US Q3 GDP, which is expected to show a jump to 2.4% from 1.4% in Q2. An improvement in Q3 would be most welcome given that it would break a run of 5 consecutive quarters of slower GDP growth.

“A number significantly lower than what is being expected, below 2%, could well take some of the heat out of the recent US dollar rebound, though I’m not sure it will alter the probability that the Fed will look to act on rates in December. Next week’s Fed meeting is more than likely to be a do-over given the proximity of the US Presidential election 6 days later, with the Fed remaining on the sidelines, despite the three September dissenters.”

In corporate news, Royal Bank of Scotland reported a third-quarter net loss of £469m compared to a profit of £940m in the same period last year.

This included a £469m restructuring cost, £425m of litigation and conduct costs and a £300m deferred tax asset impairment.

Engineer Smiths Group is to de-risk its pension liabilities further with a £250m bulk buy-in agreement with an insurer. The trustee of the Smiths Industries Pension Scheme has entered into a bulk annuity buy-in agreement with Pension Insurance Corporation, an insurer of defined benefit pensions, covering £254m worth of liabilities relating to over 3,000 legacy pensioners and dependants.

International Consolidated Airlines Group posted its group consolidated results for the nine months to 30 September on Friday, with third quarter operating profit €1.21bn before exceptional items, down from €1.25bn a year ago. The FTSE 100 firm said the net foreign exchange operating profit impact for the quarter was an adverse €162m, with passenger unit revenue was down 13.7% and at constant currency down 5.9%.Diluted earnings per share were up 18.3% before exceptional items and 23.8% after exceptional items.