London pre-open: Stocks to edge higher as investors eye EU summit

London stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Black Friday as investors eyed this weekend's EU summit.

The FTSE 100 was called to open five points higher at 6,965.

Sterling was a touch weaker against the dollar and the euro, having surged on Thursday after the UK and EU agreed on a framework for the future trade relationship between the two.

"As a result, the prospect of a special EU Summit remains on the table for this Sunday, however the potential for problems remains high given some vocal opposition to some elements of the deal from Spain, France and other EU countries," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

"Irrespective of all that, none of it changes the fact that MPs on both sides of the Brexit divide in the House of Commons hate it, and for all the optimism of Prime Minister May about the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration, on the current arithmetic there still seems little chance of it getting voted through the UK Parliament."

In corporate news, as it battles a legal headache in the US, Indivior had some good news north of the border, where regulators approved its new long-lasting treatment for opioid addiction.

Health Canada gave the green light to Sublocade, an extended-release buprenorphine injection, for the management of moderate to severe opioid use disorder in adults.

Ibstock said it had sold its US brick making unit Glen-Gery to Brickworks Limited for an enterprise value of $110m and use the proceeds to pay off debt.

Ibstock added that it still expected to deliver adjusted EBITDA of £121m - £125m for the year to end-December (which assumed a full year 2018 contribution from Glen-Gery of £11m).

Ibstock said it had made £3.7m from a sale of surplus land which, when combined with previously announced sales, resulted in a total EBITDA impact of £9.5m for the year and was excluded from the earlier guidance.

Marine services company James Fisher backed its outlook for the year as it posted a 14% jump in revenue for the 10 months to the end of October.

The group said its marine support division continues to show good growth from its services to the renewables sector and from global ship to ship services.