London pre-open: Stocks to nudge up ahead of JOLTS data
London stocks were set to nudge up on Friday as investors eye the latest JOLTS job openings data out of the US.
The FTSE 100 was called to open three points higher at 7,387.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "It was another solid session for markets in Europe yesterday with the FTSE 100 making a fresh 20 month high, and the Stoxx 600 and German DAX setting new record peaks, as European stocks shrugged off Wednesday’s US CPI shock.
"US markets, on the other hand, had a much more mixed session with the Nasdaq rebounding quite nicely, as did the Russell 2000, while the S&P500 and Dow struggled, while US bond markets were closed due to Veterans Day.
"As we look ahead to this morning’s open we look set to hold onto those gains, after a strong Asia session that saw Chinese markets rally after record sales in their own version of Black Friday, called Singles Day."
As far as the September JOLTS data is concerned, Hewson said expectations are for a fall to just over 10m, but "it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a move in the other direction, higher given the lacklustre employment reports during that month".
In corporate news, AstraZeneca reported $1.05bn in third-quarter Covid vaccine sales as the not-for-profit drug added 1% to earnings in the period, while the company reiterated annual forecasts for 2021.
The company said it was now expecting to progressively transition the vaccine to “modest profitability” as new orders are received. Vaccine sales in the final quarter are expected to be a blend of the original pandemic agreements and new orders, with the large majority coming from pandemic agreements, the company said.
Third-quarter revenue rose 50% to $9.8bn and by 32% to $25.4bn for the year to date.