London pre-open: Stocks seen up as investors mull retail sales
London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday as investors mull the latest UK retail sales figures.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 30 points higher at 7,286.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "It’s been a rather mixed week for European stocks with decent gains and record highs for the DAX and CAC40, while the FTSE 100 has had a week to forget, on course for its worst weekly performance in over two months.
"US markets had a rather mixed session, the Dow finishing lower, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq both posting record closes.
"This has provided an uplift to today’s European open, along with further gains in Asia as investors look to the next Japanese stimulus plan, as we look ahead to more UK economic data."
Data out earlier from the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales rose 0.8% on the month in October, coming in ahead of expectations for a 0.5% increase. That leaves them 5.8% above their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels.
"Clothing stores reported an increase of 6.2% over the month with feedback from some retailers suggesting that early Christmas trading had boosted sales," the ONS said.
"This is supported by analysis within the Coronavirus and social impacts release, which reported that the most common items bought or pre-ordered earlier than usual for Christmas this year included toys and clothes, shoes or accessories. The latest rise means clothing stores sales are now only 0.5% below their pre-coronavirus pandemic level."
In corporate news, UK commercial landlord Great Portland Estates swung to a half-year profit as Covid lockdowns were eased and shoppers cautiously returned to London’s West End retail precinct.
The company reported a pre-tax profit of £62.3m for the six months to September from a loss of £155.2m a year earlier.
It also upgraded its full-year rental value growth range to between 2% and 5%, predominantly driven by the positive performance of its office portfolio.