London pre-open: Stocks seen lower on profit-taking

London stocks are expected to open a little weaker on Monday as investors look to book some profits following recent gains.

The FTSE 100 is seen starting 29 points lower than Friday’s close at 6,170.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “Despite this recovery in equity markets there is still some evidence of caution with gold prices also enjoying a decent run, up over 18% year to date, which would seem to suggest that not everyone is totally convinced by the current rebound, or that investors are hedging their bets.

“While equity markets have managed to recover a good proportion of this year’s losses, recent economic data has continued to remain patchy, good in parts, and disappointing in others.”

The economic calendar is light on Monday, with no major UK data releases due.

Old Mutual responded to weekend press speculation with anything but clarity on Monday, releasing a short statement to the market.

The FTSE 100 insurance and finance group was said by numerous Sunday newspapers to be planning a £9bn split into numerous standalone companies, which could lead to a takeover battle for some of its biggest operations.

On Monday, the company said all options for its future were being considered as part of the strategic review announced when chief executive Bruce Hemphill in November last year, but no decision had yet been made.

Results from GlaxoSmithKline’s long-term safety study of Advair Diskus for the treatment of adults and adolescents with asthma have been published by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Kate Knobil, chief medical officer of pharmaceuticals at GSK said: "We are pleased that this study, which demonstrates the safety profile of Advair, has now been presented in a well-respected, peer-reviewed journal and also presented at scientific congress. This will give physicians the opportunity to independently review the results of this study."

Shipping services group Clarkson reported on a year of solid growth on Monday, with revenue growing 26.9% to £301.8m in the 2015 calendar year.

Its preliminary results showed underlying profit before tax was up 49.4% to £50.5m, and profit before tax grew 26.2% to £31.8m. Underlying earnings per share were 121.9p, down from 134.2p in 2014.

Clarkson's board recommended a final dividend of 40p, taking the year's total dividend to 62p - up from 60p in 2014.