London pre-open: Stocks to edge up after China GDP

London stocks were set to edge up at the open on Friday following the release of encouraging Chinese GDP data.

The FTSE 100 was called to open seven points higher at 6,990.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Markets in Asia appear to be ending the week on a largely positive note with the main focus on this morning’s Q1 China GDP numbers which showed the economy expanded by 18.3% year on year, and 0.6% on a quarterly basis.

"This looks set to translate into a positive European open, with all eyes on the FTSE100 and whether it can crack above the 7,000 level.

"These are fairly decent numbers; however, they need to be put into the context of the contraction in the Chinese economy a year ago when the country was locked down through February, and March. Despite this caveat it is still an impressive performance, with the Chinese consumer looking particularly strong."

In corporate news, Man Group's funds under management increased to $127bn (£92.3bn) in the three months to the end of March from $123.6bn at the end of December.

Net inflows of $0.6bn and investment gains of $3.5bn were partly offset by $0.7bn of foreign currency and other negative effects in the first quarter. Man said it had positive talks with clients about larger mandates and expected increased inflows in coming quarters.