London pre-open: Stocks seen lower as investors mull borrowing, retail sales data
London stocks were set to fall at the open on Friday following a weak session on Wall Street, as investors mulled the latest retail sales and borrowing figures.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 15 points lower.
Data released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that public finances recorded a £15.4bn surplus in January, up £800m on the previous year. This marked the highest figure for January since monthly records began in 1993.
Separate figures showed that retail sales bounced back more than expected last month.
Retail sales grew 1.7% on the month following a downwardly-revised 0.6% drop in December, and versus expectations for a smaller increase of 0.3%.
Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "The 1.7% m/m leap in retail sales volumes in January (CE +1.0%, consensus +0.3%) suggests the retail sector shot out of the blocks at the start of the year.
"But some of that strength will have come at the expense of weakness in other parts of the economy. And with households in a fairly glum mood, we doubt it will last."
In corporate news, Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered said it would hand back $1.5bn to shareholders after a rise in annual earnings.
Pre-tax profits for 2024 came in at $6bn, up from $5.1bn a year earlier and slightly below average estimates of $6.2bn.
Lloyds Banking Group kicked off a share buyback programme worth up to £1.7bn , set to finish by 31 December, with the sole purpose of reducing its ordinary share capital.
The FTSE 100 bank said Morgan Stanley would conduct the buyback independently, purchasing shares as principal before selling them on to Lloyds for cancellation.