London pre-open: Slightly higher start expected for stocks
Stocks are expected to start the session with a small advance despite the release of mixed data overnight on the state of Chinese manufacturing.
The Footsie is seen rising 20 points from Friday´s closing level of 6,083.79.
The Caixin China manufacturing sector purchasing managers´ index rose from a reading of 48.2 for December to 48.4 (consensus: 48.1).
However, the official manufacturing sector PMI retreated from the reading of 49.7 seen in November to 49.4.
Meanwhile, the country´s non-manufacturing PMI came in at 53.5, down 0.9 points from December.
"The combination of steady, if unspectacular, fundamentals and weak financial markets creates an unstable equilibrium in the global economy.
"Left unchecked, volatility and heightened uncertainty could spark a self-fulfilling downturn in global activity, but these concerns have spurred central bank action," Barclays Research said in a research note sent to clients on 28 January.
Manufacturing data from the Eurozone, UK and US are also set for release today. Investors will also be keeping a close eye on any policy-relevant remarks from US Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer after the close of trading in London.
BT Group dials up flat revenues
BT Group’s third quarter revenues have risen 3%, leaving the company’s year-to-date revenues flat. In a results released on Monday, the company said revenue for the three months to 31 December 2015 was £4.59bn, with revenue for the nine months at £13.25bn. Reported profit before tax also rose 24% for the quarter, up to £862m, and year to date profit up 18% to £2.14bn. The FTSE 100 company also announced a new organisational structure following the acquisition of EE, a brand which is said will be retained.
Rolls-Royce strengthened its partnership with Norwegian Air Shuttle on Monday, as it announced a fresh $2.7bn (£1.89bn) deal with the low-cost long haul airlne. The FTSE 100 firm said the order included Trent 1000 engines and long-term service support for 19 new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. According to the manufacturer, the order also included its TotalCare long-term support for 11 previously-announced leased Boeing 787s yet to enter service.
Ryanair posted a jump in third quarter profit as traffic grew strongly and the budget airline announced a €800m share buyback programme.For the three months ended 31 December, profit after tax rose to €103m from €49m as traffic increased 20% to 25m and revenue gained 17% to €1.33bn.