London pre-open: Stocks seen lower ahead of construction PMI
London stocks were set to fall at the open on Wednesday after healthy gains in the previous session, following a mostly downbeat session in Asia, ahead of the release of UK construction data.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 55 points lower at 7,022.
Oanda analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "The equity rally is already fading in Asia today, with US index futures deep in the red. That suggests that despite the best hopes of the perpetual mega-bulls, the path of least resistance is lower at the moment. I am expecting the markets to continue tying themselves in knots over the next few sessions until we, hopefully, get a decisive non-farm payrolls print.
"Higher or lower than 500,000 will do, as it will allow some clarity on the Federal Reserve taper path and positioning appropriately."
Investors will eye Markit’s UK construction PMI for September at 0930 BST and the US ADP employment report for September at 1315 BST.
In corporate news, supermarket chain Tesco lifted full-year earnings guidance after strong first-half sales helped interim profits to more than double.
Group sales including fuel grew 5.9% to £30.4bn in the 26 weeks to August 28 as pre-tax profit increased 107% to £1.1bn and adjusted operating profit rose by 40% to £1.45bn.
Tesco said it expected adjusted retail operating profit to be between £2.5bn and £2.6bn.
It added that it was starting an ongoing share buyback with the first tranche of £500m to be bought within a year.
Elsewhere, Imperial Brands said it was on track to meet full-year expectations.
Group net revenue is expected to grow by around 1% on an organic, constant currency basis, driven by continued strong pricing in tobacco, it said.