London pre-open: Stocks seen lower on weak US and Asian cues

London stocks were set for a weaker open on Tuesday, taking their cue from downbeat US and Asian sessions.

The FTSE 100 was seen opening 21 points lower than Monday’s close at 6,141.

Meanwhile, oil was is expected to stay under pressure.

“Oil is likely to remain volatile though as the prospect of a coordinated production freeze becomes increasingly less likely. The freeze could have been a first big step towards an agreement to cut production among all major oil producers but it would appear we’re some way from this. In the absence of either though, oil could find itself heading back towards its January lows,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

On the data front, Markit’s UK services PMI is at 0930 BST. In the US, the Markit services PMI is at 1445 BST, along with the composite PMI, while ISM non-manufacturing is at 1500 BST.

Tate & Lyle sees full year in line with expectations

Tate & Lyle said trading performance for the fourth quarter to 31 March 2016 was in line with both expectations and the outlook included in its February trading statement.

The group will announce its full year results on 26 May.

In February, Tate said third quarter trading in its specialty food ingredients division as steady, with volumes ahead of the same period a year earlier.

"Strong volume growth in Europe and Asia Pacific more than offset softer demand in North America and Latin America," the company confirmed at the time.

FTSE 250 motoring services group the AA reported results in line with expectations on Tuesday, though overall revenue reduced 0.4% to £968m in the 12 months to 31 January.

That decline was put down to expected reductions in insurance services, driving services and the Ireland division, while roadside assistance revenue rose 1.8% to £724m.

Group trading EBITDA reduced 3.3% to £415m - also in line with expectations - while profit after tax was £6m - down from 2015’s £69m, after a net cost of £85m related to refinancing. Adjusted basic earnings per share were 23.2p.

AA’s board recommended a final dividend of 5.5p, taking the full year dividend to 9p per share.

Electrocomponents said it expected full year profits to hit the top end of market expectations, following a solid fourth quarter in which the UK recovery gained pace.

Encouragingly, previous declines in North America eased off and continental Europe remained on the charge to enable 2% growth in group full year sales.