London pre-open: Stocks seen weaker ahead of UK unemployment rate

London stocks were expected to open lower following mixed US and Asian sessions, as oil prices retreated and investors looked ahead to the release of the UK unemployment rate.

The FTSE 100 was seen starting 30 points lower than Tuesday’s close at 6,375.

Oil prices were back in the red after oil workers in Kuwait agreed to end their strike and return output to normal levels.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, expects the unemployment rate for February to remain at 5.1%, with the claimant count down by around 10,000.

“Meanwhile, average earnings including bonuses are expected to have risen by 2.3% in February up from 2.1% a month earlier. This would suggest we’ve seen a rebound in wages since the dip at the end of last year and start of this year, something that will please the Bank of England as it seeks to get inflation back towards its 2% target, something it’s some way from achieving at the moment,” he said.

The unemployment rate, claimant count and average earnings are all due at 0930 BST. In the US, existing home sales are at 1500 BST.

ARM Holdings first-quarter results beat estimates

First quarter results from ARM Holdings indicated the microchip processor maker remains at the forefront of technology and analysts' forecasts.

Revenues at the Cambridge-based company of $398m were up 14% year-on-year and 22% ahead in sterling terms, while profit margins moderated to 48.6% and earnings rose 15% to 8.2p, all ahead of market expectations.

FTSE 100 builders’ merchant Travis Perkins reported a first quarter of solid growth on Wednesday, with total sales growth of 5%.

On a comparable days basis, the company saw sales growth of 6.2%, with like-for-like sales improving 4.2%. Two year like-for-like growth was 9.5%.

“All of our businesses demonstrated good growth in the first quarter of 2016, driven by the recovery in the RMI market and by the investments we have made to improve our customer propositions as part of our five-year plan,” said Travis Perkins chief executive John Carter.