London pre-open: Stocks seen up after solid US session
London stocks were set to rise at the open on Tuesday after a solid session on Wall Street, which saw the Dow and S&P 500 hit record highs.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 10 points higher at 7,233.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Once again, we’ve seen new record highs for the Dow and the S&P500, and while the Nasdaq is lagging behind, we still managed to see a strong finish there, with Tesla standing out, pushing above $1,000 a share, and in so doing becoming the latest US company to add another zero to its market cap with a valuation in excess of an eye watering $1trn.
"Facebook also reported a mixed set of Q3 numbers, beating on profits, but missing slightly on revenues, while downgrading revenue guidance for Q4 to between $31.5bn to $34.5bn, from $34.8bn. The shares initially dipped after hours; however, the blow was softened by the announcement of a $50bn share buyback, with the shares rebounding strongly.
"As we look ahead to today’s European open, last night's strong finish in the US looks set to translate into a similarly positive start here."
In UK corporate news, Reckitt Benckiser upgraded its 2021 revenue outlook as the consumer goods company reported a 3.3% increase in like-for-like net revenue to £3.28bn in the third quarter.
The maker of Finish dishwasher tablets and Durex condoms said it expected annual like-for-like net revenue to increase by 1-3% - up from earlier guidance of 0-2%. Reckitt left its margin guidance unchanged despite "significant cost pressures."
Premier Inn owner Whitbread narrowed interim losses as sales rebounded was ahead of expectations, with room revenues potentially hitting full recovery "at some point" in 2022 despite "challenging" supply chain issues and labour shortages.
Pre-tax losses for the six months to September 30 came in at £19.3m, compared to year-on-year losses of £724.7m. On a two-year pre-pandemic basis, the loss compared with a £220m profit.