London pre-open: Stocks seen up; UK construction PMI and US jobs report eyed

London stocks are expected to open higher on Wednesday following positive sessions in the US and Asia.

The FTSE 100 is seen starting 47 points higher than Tuesday’s close at 6,200.

On the data front, UK construction PMI is at 0930 GMT while in the US, the ADP employment report is due at 1315 GMT.

“Concerns about the economy in Europe look set to take a backseat today as we get the latest UK construction PMI data for February. Yesterday we saw manufacturing PMI slip back to its lowest levels in 34 months at 50.8, a sharp drop from January’s 52.9. While disappointing it was no more disappointing than the French and German numbers where we saw similar readings,” said CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson.

“The construction sector has been a bright spot for the UK economy since August 2013, where it has consistently posted readings in excess of 55, with the exception of April last year. With the housing sector contributing a good part of the growth in this sector it would be disappointing if we didn’t see a decent reading here, with expectations of a reading of 55.5, up from 55 in January, which was a 9 month low.”

Intertek Group reported on what it termed a solid year on Wednesday, with the inspection and certification company's adjusted revenue rising 3.5% to £2.17bn in calendar year 2015. Adjusted operating profit increased 5.9% to £343.4m, with the FTSE 100 firms's adjusted operating margin improving by 40 basis points to 15.9%.

The company's adjusted profit before tax was £319.2m, up 6.3%, and its diluted earnings per share were 140.7p. On a statutory basis, however, the company made a loss before tax of £307.7m, with losses per share totalling 224.2p, which Intertek primarily put down to a non-cash impairment charge against goodwill and other assets.

Ahead of the completion of its takeover of SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to sell the FTSE 100 company's stake in the world's largest beer brand for $1.

AB InBev agreed the sale of SAB's 49% interest in a Chinese joint venture, China Resources Snow Breweries, to joint venture partner China Resources Beer, in line with its strategy of hurdling potential regulatory objections around the world.

The deal will of course only be completed once AB InBev's acquisition of SABMiller completes, as expected in the second half of 2016.

Johnson Matthey said on Wednesday that Den Jones will step down as group finance director this summer due to personal reasons.

The company said a process has begun to find a successor and an appointment will be announced in due course.