London pre-open: Stocks set for muted start on negative US, Asian cues

London stocks were set for a muted open on Wednesday following downbeat sessions in the US and Asia, although the pound was gaining ground against the dollar.

The FTSE 100 was expected to start three points lower than Tuesday’s close at 7,067.

There are no major UK data releases due.

The pound got some welcome relief from a Bloomberg report suggesting Prime Minister Theresa May has accepted to hold a parliamentary vote on her plans for taking the UK out of the European Union, raising hopes that this would help curb her push for a hard Brexit.

CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said: “Given that the UK parliament is considered largely pro-Remain the change of position appears to have prompted some short covering on the basis that some MPs will seek to significantly water down any exit terms.

“Following on from last week’s politics inspired volatility it would appear that trying to find a floor for the pound is going to be difficult in the short term, simply due to the amount of political uncertainty being generated on both sides of the Channel, as both sides dance on the edge of the volcano, in laying out their negotiating positions, which for now appear a long way apart.”

In corporate news, miner Fresnillo reported a 7% increase in silver production and a 21% rise in gold production at its Mexico mines in the third quarter, as the turnaround plan at the company continues to progress, albeit not at the pace originally planned.

Chief executive Octavio Alvídrez said the company expects an increase in silver grades and production for the full year compared to 2015, however, recent volumes processed have come under pressure due to equipment availability and personnel issues. Still, he maintained that the group remains on track to meet its full year production guidance of 850-870 thousand ounces gold and 49-51m ounces of silver, including Silverstream.

Domino’s Pizza said on Wednesday that it continued to trade well in the third quarter, building on the company’s “very strong” first half.

In a trading update for 27 June to 25 September, Domino’s reported an 11.5% jump in system sales to £237m, with sale sin the UK up 10.5% to £220.9m.

Chief executive David Wild said: "The business continues to trade well with a strong sales uplift across the Group during the period. As highlighted at our interim results in July, we face tough comparatives in the second half of the year, but our continued investment in e-commerce, our international expansion and the launch of our new Italiano range taking us to new customers, will help to drive performance for the remainder of the year. Our new store programme provides a strong platform for future growth."

Property, residential, construction and services company Kier Group announced that it has completed the disposal of Mouchel Consulting to WSP Global for a total consideration of £75m, satisfied in cash.

The FTSE 250 firm said Mouchel Consulting, acquired in June 2015 as part of Kier's acquisition of Mouchel, provides engineering, environmental and asset management consultancy services, principally to infrastructure markets.The disposal is expected to result in an immediate profit of approximately £40m, subject to post-completion adjustments.

Housebuilder Countryside Properties' rate of sales completions slowed in the fourth quarter but its order book swelled to a record size. Average selling prices surged 21% in the year to 30 September to £466,000 and the number of completions across the group grew 12% to 2,657 units, slowing from the 29% rate in the third quarter.