London pre-open: Stocks seen lower as attention turns to US data

Stocks in London were set to open in the red on Thursday, taking their cue from a downbeat session in the US and mixed markets in Asia, as investors eyed a slew of US data releases.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 21 points lower than Wednesday’s close at 7,020.

Think Markets’ Naeem Aslam said: “Volume in the market is abating as traders get set for their holidays. This will be the general theme across the markets for the next few days. The momentum passed over by Wall Street wasn't much help for the Asian markets today as the Dow failed to reach that 20K mark. Markets over in Asia have also floated into red territory and this is having an impact over in Europe.

“We do not anticipate that it is of particular concern as it is normal for traders to book some profit before the holiday period.”

US initial jobless claims, Chicago Fed activity, durable goods and the third release of third-quarter gross domestic product are all due at 1330 GMT. Leading indicators, personal income and spending and the PCE deflator are at 1500 GMT.

Investors in London were digesting the latest survey from GfK, which showed British consumers are downbeat about the economic prospects next year. GfK’s monthly consumer sentiment index nudged up to -7 in December from -8 the month before but expectations for 2017 were at their weakest since just after the Brexit vote in June.

In corporate news, Legal & General has poached Ernst & Young senior partner, Jeff Davies as its chief financial officer.

He will start in the spring, replacing Mark Gregory, who will stay on until the end of August to ensure a smooth handover.

Electra Private Equity announced the final results of its tender offer, which was first announced on 8 November, on Thursday, with the offer closing at 1800 GMT on Wednesday.

The FTSE 250 firm said the strike price was 4,650p and a total of 1,987,768 ordinary shares were validly tendered under the offer.

As a result, all valid tenders would be satisfied in full and the total consideration payable under the offer is £92.43m.

Car dealership operator Inchcape has acquired a distribution business focused on Subaru cars and Hino commercial vehicles in South America for £234m cash.

Covering Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina, the deal strengthens the FTSE 250 company's existing operations in the region and with the vehicle manufacturers, and is expected to be accretive to earnings in the first year of ownership by a mid to high single digit percentage.