London pre-open: Stocks to edge lower as investors mull jobs data

The FTSE 100 was called to open seven points lower at 7,345.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of workers on payrolls rose 0.6%, or by 160,000 between September and October to 29.3m.

Sam Beckett, ONS head of economic statistics, said: "It might take a few months to see the full impact of furlough coming to an end, as people who lost their jobs at the end of September could still be receiving redundancy pay.

"However, October's early estimate shows the number of people on the payroll rose strongly on the month and stands well above its pre-pandemic level."

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in September from 4.5% in August, coming in slightly below consensus expectations of 4.4%.

In corporate news, cigarette manufacturer Imperial Brands reported a small rise in annual profits as it managed to halve losses from its vaping and other products division.

Underlying adjusted operating profit for the year rose 2.7% to 3.57bn as reported revenue grew 0.7% to £32.7bn. The dividend was lifted 1% to 139.08p a share.

Imperial said it expected to deliver net revenue growth at a similar rate to 2021, while adjusted operating profit is expected to grow slightly slower than net revenue, reflecting increased investment as part of its five-year strategic plan and non-repeat of US state litigation settlement costs.

Restaurant Group lifted its full-year earnings expectations as it said it has traded well since its last update in September, with like-for-like sales outperformance versus the market across its Wagamama, pubs and leisure businesses.

As a result, it now expects FY21 adjusted EBITDA of between £73m and £79m, subject to no unexpected Covid related disruptions being announced before the end of the financial year.