London pre-open: Stocks to edge down after China data

London stocks were set to edge lower at the open on Monday following the release of disappointing Chinese data.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 13 points lower at 7,110.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "While we’ve seen a degree of optimism return to the US labour market and the US economy, concerns are rising over the Chinese economy which has been showing some worrying signs of weakness in recent weeks, amidst reports of increasing outbreaks of Delta variant cases which are reportedly prompting lockdowns across various parts of the country.

"The various outbreaks across Asia, which have been accelerating in recent weeks also appear to be starting to bleed into some of the recent economic data, with the latest July trade numbers at the weekend showing export growth of 19.3%, the lowest levels this year, and also below expectations.

"Imports were also weaker than expected, rising 28.1%, down from a 36.7% rise in June, as demand for iron ore, crude oil and steel slowed, while recent floods have also disrupted economic activity.

"On any other scale these numbers would be very good indeed, taking into account residual base effects from last year, as well various port disruptions due to labour shortages and Covid disruption, there is a concern that these numbers could well weaken further."

In corporate news, TI Fluid Systems reported a 32.7% improvement in revenue at constant currency in its first half, to €1.52bn (£1.29bn), as its adjusted EBIT rose to €127.8m, from €27.6m.

The FTSE 250 company said its margin for the six months ended 30 June was 8.4%, up from 2.3% in the first half of 2020. Its board announced an interim dividend of 1.93 euro cents per share, which it noted could represent a full year pay-out in line with its 30% of adjusted net income dividend policy.

AstraZeneca said ‘Forxiga’, or dapagliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, has been approved in the European Union for the treatment of chronic kidney disease in adults with and without type-2 diabetes.

The pharmaceuticals giant said the approval by the European Commission was based on positive results from the ‘DAPA-CKD’ phase 3 trial.