London pre-open: Stocks to fall ahead of manufacturing PMI

London stocks were set to fall at the open on Tuesday as investors eyed the latest reading on the UK manufacturing sector.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 21 points lower at 5,942.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "Overnight, the Caixin survey of Chinese manufacturing for August was posted, and the reading was 53.1 - the fastest rate of expansion since 2011. Economists were expecting 52.6. The July report was 52.8. Equity markets in the Far East are muted, and European indices are tipped to have a mixed start."

On the UK data front, Markit’s manufacturing PMI for August is due at 0930 BST. It is expected to be unchanged from July at 55.3.

In corporate news, Dunelm said trading was well ahead of its expectations in the past two months helped by demand that built up during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The homewares retailer said total sales surged 59% in July from a year earlier partly from pent-up demand from store closures and the timing of its summer sale. Sales rose 24% in August.

Dunelm said there was too much uncertainty about the economy and the potential impact of renewed lockdowns to give meaningful guidance on the outlook.

AstraZeneca announced that its ‘Imfinzi’, or durvalumab, has been approved in the European Union for the first-line treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, in combination with a choice of chemotherapies, etoposide plus either carboplatin or cisplatin.

The FTSE 100 drug maker also said that results from the phase 3 ‘DAPA-CKD’ trial showed that ‘Farxiga’, or dapagliflozin, on top of standard of care reduced the worsening of renal function or risk of cardiovascular or renal death by 39% compared to placebo in patients with chronic kidney disease stages two to four, and elevated urinary albumin excretion.