London pre-open: Stocks seen weaker as investors eye Queen's Speech

London stocks were set for a weaker open on Wednesday, taking their cue from a downbeat session on Wall Street after oil prices slid to nine-month lows, as investors awaited the Queen's Speech later in the day.

The FTSE 100 was expected to open 24 points lower at 7,448.

The Queen's Speech, which was pushed back from last week, is due at around 1130 BST. On Tuesday, Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party cautioned that a deal was "not imminent". The Press Association quoted a source as saying that talks haven't proceeded in a way that the DUP would have expected. Still, the source said an agreement before Wednesday's State Opening of Parliament could not be entirely ruled out if there was movement in the talks between the parties.

On the data front, public sector net borrowing is at 0930 BST, while US existing home sales are at 1500 BST.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "This morning’s public sector borrowing figures for are expected to show that in May the government borrowed £7.2bn, down from £9.6bn in April.

"We also have the small matter of the Queens speech where the new Conservative minority government will attempt to get its new legislative program through the House of Commons, with or without the help of the DUP. it is unlikely that the DUP would vote against it and raise the prospect of another election and a possible Corbyn government, but nonetheless it is likely to be a tense process, and something that could be a speed bump for the pound if the bill fails to get the required votes to pass."

In corporate news, Whitbread booked in a strong start to its new financial year, with revenues at its Premier Inn hotels accelerating and Costa coffee shops sales returning to like-for-like growth.

Total sales for the 13 weeks to 1 June were up 7.6% and LFL sales were up 2.9%, with Premier Inn LFLs up 4.7% and Costa up 1.1%.

Shire announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Mydayis - mixed salts of a single-entity amphetamine product - which the company’s board described as a once-daily treatment comprised of three different types of drug-releasing beads for patients 13 years and older with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The FTSE 100 firm said it expected to make Mydayis commercially available in the United States in the third quarter of 2017.