London pre-open: Stocks seen muted ahead of US inflation data

The FTSE 100 was called to open unchanged at 7,643.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "We saw another strong session for markets in Europe yesterday, with the FTSE100 putting in a new two year high, with the rest of Europe also putting in some good gains.

"US markets also saw a solid session led by the Nasdaq 100 which retested its 200-day MA for the first time since last week’s failure, which in turn is expected to translate into a mixed lead for today’s European open.

"Today’s US inflation report could well be the catalyst that determines whether the Nasdaq 100 breaks back above that key 200-day moving average level in the next few hours."

The US consumer price index for January is due out at 1330 GMT.

In corporate news, AstraZeneca swung to a fourth-quarter loss as higher costs more than offset a surge in revenue boosted by sales of the company's Covid-19 vaccine.

The drugs company posted a $636m pre-tax loss for the three months to the end of December from a $1.49bn profit a year earlier as revenue rose 62% to $12bn. AstraZeneca declared a second interim dividend of $1.97 a share, taking the annual payout to $2.87.

AstraZeneca said it expected revenue to rise by a mid-teens percentage in 2022 and for core earnings per share to increase by a percentage in the mid-to-high 20s.

Retailer Watches of Switzerland said that both third-quarter and year-to-date revenues had grown, leading the firm to expect full-year revenues and profits to trend more towards the top end of guidance.

The company said third-quarter group revenues were up 27.9% at £348.1m, while year-to-date revenues were 38% stronger at £934.3m as demand for luxury watches continued to be "very strong" in both the UK and the US, consistently exceeding supply.

Consumer products conglomerate Unilever said fourth-quarter underlying sales grew 4.9% and announced a €3bn share buyback, as it warned of the continuing impact of cost inflation and the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the first results since its failed bid for GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer health business, the maker of Magnum ice-cream said it expected underlying sales growth in 2022 to be 4.5% - 6.5%. Pricing would continue to be strong, with some impact on volume as a result.

The underlying operating margin for 2022 was expected fall by 140 - 240 basis points and maintained between 16% - 17%, with the main impact on the first half.

"We expect margin to be restored after 2022, with the bulk coming back in 2023 and the rest in 2024," Unilever said.