London pre-open: Stocks to drop after Apple warning

London stocks were set for losses at the open on Thursday after US technology giant Apple cut its guidance for the first quarter.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 42 points lower at 6,692.

Apple said after the close of US markets on Wednesday that its first-quarter sales would be lower than expected due to weaker sales in China. The company said it now expects revenues of around $84bn in the three months to 29 December, down from previous guidance of between $89bn and $93bn.

In a letter to shareholders, chief executive Tim Cook highlighted slowing growth in China and trade tensions with the US.

"While we anticipated some challenges in key emerging markets, we did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in greater China," Cook said.

On the UK data front, the construction PMI for December is at 0930 GMT.

In corporate news, high street fashion retailer Next said its full-price sales for the Christmas trading period between 28 October and 29 December were in line with the guidance it issued in September, and were up by 1.5% year-on-year.

The FTSE 100 company said strong sales in the three weeks prior to Christmas, along with a good half-term holiday week at the end of October, made up for disappointing sales in November.

Ashtead said it had extended the maturity of its senior credit facility to December 2023 and increased it to $4.1bn. Depending on availability under the facility and leverage, the pricing grid ranges from LIBOR plus 125 - 175 basis points - a 25 basis point cut.

Low cost airline Wizz Air Holdings reported a 18.3% year-on-year rise in December passenger numbers to 2.66m as capacity rose 16.5% to 2.99m seats.