London pre-open: Stocks seen muted as May heads to Brussels

London stocks were set for a muted open on Thursday as Theresa May heads to Brussels for an EU summit after surviving a no-confidence vote on her leadership.

The FTSE 100 was called to open four points lower at 6,876.

May survived the confidence vote on Wednesday evening with 200 Conservative MPs voting in support but 117 dissenting - a significantly higher number than expected.

London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "The pound had rallied across the previous session in anticipation of her win. However, the numbers show just how divided her party is. After peaking at $1.2672 in the previous session, the pound has since edged lower overnight and in early trade this morning.

"After Theresa May’s win, pound traders are looking nervously ahead to the Brexit vote in January. Teresa May will need to win over 117 conservative ministers in order to have a hope of getting her Brexit deal through Parliament. This is a big ask and the currency market is fully aware of that."

May will now head to Brussels in a bid to gain further reassurances from the EU that the Irish backstop - which will prevent the return of a hard border with Ireland - will not last indefinitely, as she scrambles to get support for her Brexit deal ahead of the Commons vote.

Investors will be mulling over the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which showed that the UK property market was at its weakest level in more than six years in November as worries about Brexit meant people opted to sit tight.

The RICS house price balance slumped to -11 last month from -10 in October, marking its lowest reading since September 2012.

On the corporate front, logistics company Bunzl said full year group revenue for the year is expected to increase by between 8% and 9% at constant exchange rates due to organic growth of more than 4% and a similar impact from acquisitions, net of disposals.

Currency translation movements are expected to reduce the constant exchange revenue growth by between 3% and 4%.

Bunzl also said it has recently acquired CM Supply, a foodservice distributor based in Copenhagen, Denmark for an undisclosed sum.

Elsewhere, G4S has begun the process to spin off its Cash Solutions business, which it thinks could "unlock substantial shareholder value".

A review by directors of different separation options should be completed some time next year, with an update to be provided alongside full year results in March.