London pre-open: Stocks seen touch lower on downbeat US cues

by | Sep 8, 2023

(Sharecast News) – London stocks were set to edge down at the open on Friday following a mostly downbeat session on Wall Street.
The FTSE 100 was called to open seven points lower at 7,434.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: “Yesterday was another mixed bag for European markets, with the DAX closing lower for the fifth day in a row, while still closing well off the lows of the day in another choppy session. The FTSE 100, on the other hand, managed to break a 3-day losing streak, helped by a slightly weaker pound.

“US markets had a slightly more negative tone to them with the Nasdaq 100 closing lower for the 4th day in a row, with weakness in the Apple share price acting as the main lag on the index, while weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest levels since February.

“The overall mood amongst investors does appear to be becoming gloomier, however despite recent price moves we’re still within the price ranges we’ve been in over the past 6 months. With some key central bank meetings looming in the next two weeks we might find the catalyst that breaks us out of these choppy ranges.”

In corporate news, housebuilder Berkeley reaffirmed full-year earnings guidance but said private sales reservations were down 35% due to rising interest rates and political volatility.

In a trading statement ahead of its annual general meeting, the group said it expected to deliver pre-tax profits of at least £1.05bn across the current and next financial years; likely to be weighted slightly to full-year 2024.

Berkeley said it had more than 90% of full-year 2024 revenue exchanged and anticipated cash due on forward sales to be around £2bn at October 31, 2023 compared with £2.14bn at the end of April.

It also revealed it had not acquired any land in the period and would only invest “very selectively” in new opportunities due to what it called the “complexity and protracted nature of the current planning system and lack of clarity surrounding certain regulatory changes”.

Elsewhere, The Restaurant Group announced that its chairman Ken Hanna is stepping down next year “due to personal reasons”.

The company, which owns 380 restaurants and pubs across the UK including Wagamama and Brunning & Price, said Hanna has decided not to seek re-election at its next AGM in 2024, but will stick around until a successor is appointed.

Related articles

FTSE 100 movers: Severn Trent, JD Sports rally

FTSE 100 movers: Severn Trent, JD Sports rally

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,642.68 in afternoon trade on Friday. Severn Trent was the standout performer on the index after saying it was seeking to raise £1bn for a transformation plan expected to create 7,000 jobs across the Midlands. JD...

Latest Articles

US open: Stocks steady as inflation continues to ebb

US open: Stocks steady as inflation continues to ebb

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street was on a firmer footing on the last trading day of the third quarter as a key inflation indicator printed slightly below the consensus forecasts. "The September rut in stock indices paused into quarter end as both Eurozone and the Fed's...

FTSE 100 movers: Severn Trent, JD Sports rally

FTSE 100 movers: Severn Trent, JD Sports rally

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,642.68 in afternoon trade on Friday. Severn Trent was the standout performer on the index after saying it was seeking to raise £1bn for a transformation plan expected to create 7,000 jobs across the Midlands. JD...

Annual UK property sales fall in August – HMRC

Annual UK property sales fall in August – HMRC

(Sharecast News) - Annual house sales fell sharply in August, provisional government data showed on Friday. According to HM Revenue and Customs, the seasonally-adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions was 87,010 last month. That was a 1% uptick on July 2023...

BofA Merrill Lynch upgrades Marks & Spencer to ‘buy’

BofA Merrill Lynch upgrades Marks & Spencer to ‘buy’

(Sharecast News) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded Marks & Spencer on Friday to 'buy' from 'neutral' as it argued the stock is still too cheap and consensus earnings too low. The bank said that despite the stock's outperformance year-to-date, it believes that...

Retail sales climb as September heatwave fades – BDO

Retail sales climb as September heatwave fades – BDO

(Sharecast News) - High street sales pushed higher last week, industry research showed on Friday, as delayed autumn spending finally looked to have got underway. According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like sales rose by 5.51% in the week...

Join our mailing list

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive regular updates!

No Fields Found.
x