London pre-open: Stocks to fall amid growing Russia-Ukraine tensions
London stocks were set to fall at the open on Monday amid growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 45 points lower at 7,616.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Friday’s move lower in US markets appeared to coincide with comments from US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan who urged any remaining Americans in Ukraine to leave immediately, and that a Russian invasion could come any day.
"The US also ordered the departure of all US soldiers in Ukraine to leave the country immediately in case they get caught up if hostilities break out.
"This escalation in tension coming as it did at the end of another turbulent week, saw investors adopt a safety-first approach ahead of the weekend, and looks set to translate into a lower open for markets in Europe this morning, given the weakness being seen in Asia markets."
In corporate news, chemical company Synthomer said it expected full year core earnings to double, in line with expectations, but cautioned that sales of latex gloves during the Covid pandemic had peaked. The company now sees core profits of £518.4m, compared with £259.4m a year earlier and £177.9m in pre-pandemic 2019.
Real estate trust LXi said it had bought nine properties for £87m, funded by its recent £250m capital raise. The acquisitions, with seven different vendors/developers, reflect an accretive 5.1% net initial yield (net of purchase costs), versus the current portfolio valuation yield of 4.5%.