London pre-open: Stocks seen up after Thursday's losses; GDP in focus

London stocks were set to rise a little at the open on Friday following heavy losses in the previous session, as investors mull the latest UK GDP figures.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 15 points higher at 7,046.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that economic growth slowed to 0.8% in May from a revised 2% in April, coming in well below expectations for 1.5% growth.

ONS deputy national statistician for Economic Statistics Jonathan Athow said: "The economy grew for the fourth consecutive month, albeit at a slower pace than seen recently, but remains around 3% below its pre-pandemic peak.

"Pubs and restaurants, who were again able to welcome indoor guests, were responsible for the vast majority of the growth seen in May. Hotels also saw a marked recovery as restrictions lifted."

Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "May’s weaker-than-expected increase in GDP underlines that the recovery to its pre-Covid levels will be drawn out."

In corporate news, tobacco giant Philip Morris swooped for UK pharmaceuticals company Vectura Group with a £1.045bn recommended offer.

The 150p-a-share offer trumps a 136p offer from private equity group Carlyle in May that valued Vectura, which focuses on inhaled medicines, at £958m.

Philip Morris said it was expanding into products beyond tobacco and nicotine "as part of a natural evolution into a broader healthcare and wellness company" with the ultimate aim of disrupting its own industry and ending smoking.