London pre-open: Stocks set to track advance on Wall Street
Shares were expected to start the session higher, tracking a record close overnight on Wall Street and on the heels of better than expected Chinese trade data.
As of 0721 GMT the Footsie was being called to start the day higher by 23 points to 7,252.
In parallel, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Composite Index was higher by 0.42% to 3,196.70.
Asia's largest economy recorded a foreign trade surplus of $51.4bn, a six-month high, with both exports and imports easily surpassing economists' forecasts for the month of January.
Chinese exports jumped 7.9% year-on-year (consensus: 3.2%), as imports rose by 16.7% (consensus: 10.0%).
"Stepping back, the big picture is that Chinese trade values have been picking up in recent months thanks to a revival in global manufacturing, the continued strength of China’s domestic economy and the rebound in global commodity prices. We expect this improvement to be sustained in the short-run, even as Chinese New Year distortions mean that headline trade growth is likely to fall back sharply in February," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics.
Commenting on US President Donald Trump's promise on Thursday of “something phenomenal on tax in the next two to three weeks”, which stoked stockmarket gains in the US, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK said: "It is hard to imagine that he will be able to promise anything tangible within a two to three week window, however whatever the realities investors appear happy to take him at his word, as US markets closed well above their previous peaks, while the US dollar index looks set to post its first positive week this year."
On the economic calendar for Friday were UK industrial production figures for January at 0930 GMT, followed by US data on import prices and consumer sentiment at 1330 GMT and 1500 GMT, respectively.
Reckitt Benckiser bags Mead Johnson
Nurofen and Durex maker Reckitt Benckiser confirmed that it will buy US baby milk company Mead Johnson for up to $17.9bn, while it also said that revenue and earnings grew in 2016 despite challenging markets and products.
The FTSE 100 company is to buy Mead Johnson for $90 per share in cash, valuing Mead Johnson's equity at $16.6bn with the total value of the deal coming to $17.9bn including net debt.
Online food ordering and delivery service Just Eat announced on Friday that, due to urgent family matters, David Buttress had informed the board of his intention to step down from his role as chief executive officer.The FTSE 250 company said Buttress would continue to work full time in the company until the end of the first quarter, at which time John Hughes - who has been chairman of the board for almost six years - will assume the role of executive chairman.
Pub group Greene King reported strong trading over the Christmas period on Friday as it sounded an upbeat note on its outlook. In the 40 weeks to 4 February, like-for-like sales grew 1.1%. Excluding Fayre & Square, LFL sales were up 1.6% over the period.
Over the last 16 weeks, the company said it had seen strong Christmas trading, alongside the usual quieter months of November and January.