London pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of Brexit vote
London stocks were set to rise at the open on Tuesday following losses in the previous session, as investors eyed the second parliamentary vote on Theresa May’s Brexit ‘Plan B’ and continued to keep an eye on US-China trade relations.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 33 points higher at 6,780.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "There are two rival sides in Parliament attempting to take control of Brexit. If one wins, there is a good chance that Brexit will be delayed through the pushing back of Article 50. If the other wins, Theresa May will be sent back to Brussels to renegotiate the Irish backstop arrangement; the most controversial part of the Brexit deal."
Meanwhile, market participants will also be looking ahead to the two days of Sino-US trade talks that kick off in Washington on Wednesday, after the US Justice Department filed a host of criminal charges against Chinese telecoms company Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.
The US delegation will be led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and will include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Larry Kudlow, and Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro. The Chinese delegation will be led by Vice Premier Liu He.
In corporate news, Royal Mail tightened up its full-year profit guidance after what it said was a busy Christmas period.
The letters and parcels group now expects to deliver adjusted group operating profit before transformation costs of £500-530m, from the £500-550m previously indicated.
BHP said no agreement had been reached over the financial obligations of its Samarco joint venture following the 2015 mine disaster that killed 19 people.
BHP said in a statement that Samarco's operations will only restart if it is “safe, economically viable and has the support of the community and regulators”.
The statement came after a second dam burst in Brazil on Friday at a mine owned solely by Brazil's Vale SA Vale, which owns half of Samarco that has killed 65 people with fears the death toll could rise into the hundreds.
Domino’s Pizza updated the market on its fourth quarter trading, reporting a 5.8% uptick in organic group system sales, with UK system sales up 6.0% and UK like-for-like sales up 4.5%.
The company, which holds the master franchise for Domino’s Pizza in several European countries, said its saw its “busiest week ever” in the run-up to Christmas, and reported “strong” digital performance, with online sales up 10.8%.
However, due to weaker sales progress outside the UK and Ireland, and business integration challenges in Norway, full-year underlying profit before tax was now expected to be at the lower end of the consensus range of £93.9m to £98.2m.