London stocks were set to rise at the open on Tuesday as oil prices recovered after Saudi Arabia denied a report that it and other Opec countries were in talks about lifting output.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 24 points higher at 7,400.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: “As we look ahead to today’s European open the sharp recovery in oil prices from their lows yesterday looks set to translate into a slightly firmer open, with the main focus set to be on the latest set of UK public finances numbers while the OECD is set to publish its latest set of economic outlooks.”
On the macroeconomic front, figures out earlier from the Office for National Statistics showed that public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks – PSNB ex – was £13.5bn in October, up from October 2021’s £9.2bn, but well below consensus expectations of £21.0bn.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “October’s high borrowing figure largely is a consequence of the government’s decision to shield households from most of the surge in energy prices.
“The Energy Bills Support Scheme cost the government £1.9bn in October, while the Energy Price Guarantee was the main driver of a £1.1bn rise in subsidies.
“Note that the costs of the Energy Bills Relief Scheme for businesses has not been included in October’s borrowing estimate, due to a lack of data so far. Social assistance payments also were £1.0bn higher than a year ago, reflecting the payment of some of the grants to help households with living costs announced in May.”
In corporate news, home repairs provider Homeserve reported a rise in interim profits despite the cost-of-living crisis.
The company, which is about to be taken over by assert manager Brookfield in a £4bn deal, posted a 19% rise in pre-tax profit to £22.4m.
Severn Trent reported a “robust” first half, with group profit before tax and interest up 2.4% year-on-year to £261.7m, after a £103.6m rise in turnover to £1.06bn.
The water company hiked its property PBIT guidance by a further £50m, with planned PBIT from sales of surplus land now £150m between 2017 and 2032.
Adjusted basic earnings per share fell to 29.9p for the six months ended 30 September, however, from 54p, as a result of its PBIT growth being offset by the impact of inflation on index-linked debt. Basic earnings per share were 31.4p, swinging from a loss of 73p.
