London pre-open: Stocks to rise after Tuesday's losses
London stocks were set to rise at the open on Wednesday following heavy losses a day earlier on the back of worries about the Ukraine crisis.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 26 points higher at 7,356.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, said: "The Russian Army increased its attack on Ukraine over the last 24 hours as towns and cities in the east of Ukraine are now under fire. This is a further moment of uncertainty for traders and investors as everyone is looking at one city, Kyiv.
"When Russia begins its full force attack on Kyiv, it will be apparent that it wants to take over the country. Joe Biden, the US President, has also increased the geopolitical tensions by another notch by labelling President Putin by saying that Putin's move was ‘badly miscalculated’. There is no doubt that war is no good for Russia, and sanctions imposed on Russia are likely to influence the global economy adversely. Many believe that cutting Russian banks from the SWIFT banking system will only weaken the Russian economy; however, the fear among traders is that the move could backfire."
In UK corporate news, insurer Aviva reported a 28% fall in annual profits, reflecting lower operating earnings from discontinued operations and also announced the £385m acquisition of Succession Wealth.
Operating profit for 2021 came in at £2.26bn, compared with £3.16bn in 2020. The total dividend was 22.05p a share, up from 21p.
Shipping company Clarkson tapped Laurence Hollingworth to take over as chairman.
Hollingworth, who will succeed outgoing chair Bill Thomas with immediate effect, joined the firm's board back in July 2020 and has "extensive experience" in capital markets. Prior to joining Clarkson, Hollingworth spent 37 years in stockbroking and investment banking with Cazenove and JP Morgan.