London pre-open: Stocks seen down as investors eye jobless claims
London stocks were set to fall at the open on Thursday following gains in the previous session, as investors eye the latest US jobless claims ahead of Friday’s non-farm payrolls report.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 15 points lower at 7,135
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "European markets got off to a mixed start to September, as investors digested a raft of underwhelming economic data, from China to the US, and look set for a similarly mixed open today.
"US markets have also started the month on a cautious note, and while the Nasdaq managed to eke out another record close, the Dow finished the day lower.
"This caution on the part of Powell last week, was underscored by yesterday’s disappointing ADP payrolls report which saw 374k jobs added in August, well below the 640k expected. The disappointment was reinforced by an ISM manufacturing report which saw the employment component contract to 49, from 52.9 in July, while inflation also softened as prices paid slipped back to 79.4.
"As a leading indicator for tomorrow’s jobs report, neither of these misses on employment is a particularly encouraging sign, however it's not the end of the world either."
Hewson said the jobless claims, due out at 1330 BST, are expected to see a fall to 342k from 353k.
In corporate news, Melrose Industries said it was trading ahead of expectations as the turnaround company reported a narrower loss for the first half of 2021.
The company reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £151m for the six months to the end of June compared with a £585m loss a year earlier as revenue rose to £3.54bn from £3.39bn. Adjusted pre-tax profit was £109m compared with an £11m loss a year earlier. Melrose declared an interim dividend of 0.75p a share.