London pre-open: Stocks seen lower as UK inflation eyed

London stocks were expected to open lower on Tuesday ahead of key UK inflation data and amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.

The FTSE 100 was set to open 16 points weaker than Monday’s close at 6,679.

CMC Markets’ Jasper Lawler said: “Geopolitical shocks have played their part in holding down European markets over the past two trading days with investors concerned by events in Nice and Turkey. Late last night an Afghan refugee was reportedly killed by police in Germany for attacking train passengers with a knife and axe, in what appears to be another terrorist-motivated lone wolf attack.”

In macroeconomic news, investors will eye the release of UK CPI, RPI and PPI at 0930 BST, In the US, housing starts are at 1330 BST, along with building permits.

On the corporate front, mining giant Rio Tinto said second quarter iron ore production from its mines in Western Australia's Pilbara rose 8% to nearly 81m from the same time a year ago.

Pilbara iron ore shipments rose 6% to 82.2m tonnes. Over the six month period, shipments of iron ore increased 8% to nearly 159m tonnes, while production rose 10% to almost 161m tonnes.

Rio Tinto will produce nearly 330m tonnes of iron ore this year, in line with production forecasts.

Hammerson announced on Tuesday that it has exchanged contracts for the sale of Manor Walks Shopping Centre, Cramlington in Northumberland to Arch Commercial Enterprise for £78m.

The FTSE 100 firm said Manor Walks adjoins Westmorland Retail Park, which it will retain ownership of, and the two schemes form the core retail offer for Cramlington town centre, nine miles north of Newcastle.

In a separate transaction, Hammerson has also sold a 4,000 square metre property let to The Range in Folkestone for £7m, bringing the total value of disposals to £85m.

Royal Mail said trading for the three months ended 26 June was in line with its expectations, with group revenue up 1% and UK revenue down 1%.

Chief executive Moya Greene said: “We continue to face the challenges caused by the current low inflationary environment and our highly competitive markets. We remain, however, very focussed on operational and financial efficiency and delivering a high quality service for all our customers."