London pre-open: Stocks to edge higher; Kraft ditches Unilever takeover plans

Stocks in London were for a slightly firmer open on Monday, tracking a positive session in Asia, with US markets due to be closed for Presidents Day.

The FTSE 100 was called to open nine points higher than Friday’s close at 7,309.

Investors will be digesting the latest figures from property website Rightmove, which showed growth in house prices slowed to the lowest rate in nearly four years this month. Prices were up 2.3%, marking the slowest rate since April 2013.

On the economic calendar, the CBI industrial trends survey is at 1100 GMT.

CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said: “In the absence of US markets due to President’s Day, markets in Europe are likely to be quieter than usual today, with the FTSE100 likely to be in focus after Kraft Heinz announced it was withdrawing its interest in Unilever after the backlash against it at the weekend.

“The pound could come under further pressure after last week’s disappointing retail sales numbers, as the unelected upper chamber of the House of Lords begins its deliberations on the Article 50 bill, with a number of lawmakers determined to try and force through some of the amendments the House of Commons wasn’t able to. Any delays here could derail the timetable set out by the UK government to trigger Article 50 by the end of March.”

In corporate news, Kraft Heinz said on Sunday that it has ditched its plans to take over Unilever, just two days after it emerged the London-listed consumer goods giant had rejected a $143bn offer.

Royal Bank of Scotland will abandon plans to sell its Williams & Glyn business and instead provide funds to help challenger banks, if a Treasury proposal is accepted by the European Commission.

The bank had put out a statement late on Friday that it has already taken a £750m provision within its 2016 annual results as a consequence of the new proposal.

Retail property group Hammerson said full year adjusted profits rose 9.4% to £230.7m on a jump in net rental income to £346.5m from £318.6m.

The final dividend was lifted 8.6% to 13.9p a share.

AstraZeneca announced that it entered into an agreement with TerSera Therapeutics for the commercial rights to the ‘Zoladex’ goserelin acetate implant in the US and Canada.

The FTSE 100 firm said Zoladex is an injectable luteinising hormone-releasing hormone agonist, used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer and certain benign gynaecological disorders, first approved in the US and Canada in 1989.