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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open lower on Thursday, with investors nervous ahead of Friday's US inflation print.
Eyes are on Friday's core personal consumption expenditures index.
The numbers are expected to show that the core personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve's preferred US inflation gauge, rose 2.8% year-on-year in April, the same pace of growth as in March.
Before that on Thursday, there is a US gross domestic product reading at 1330 BST.
In early corporate news, Auto Trader reported higher annual revenue and profit. Dr Martens posted a gloomy outlook, after cutting its full-year payout.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.4% at 8,147.80
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Hang Seng: down 1.5% at 18,200.03
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.3% at 38,054.13
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.5% at 7,628.20
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DJIA: closed down 411.32 points, 1.1%, at 38,441.54
S&P 500: closed down 0.7% at 5,266.95
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 0.6% at 16,920.58
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EUR: down at USD1.0789 (USD1.0811)
GBP: down at USD1.2686 (USD1.2710)
USD: down at JPY157.02 (JPY157.56)
GOLD: down at USD2,326.20 per ounce (USD2,339.63)
OIL (Brent): down at USD83.16 a barrel (USD83.50)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Thursday's key economic events still to come:
08:30 EDT Canada current account
11:00 CEST eurozone unemployment
11:00 CEST eurozone consumer confidence
11:00 IST Ireland CPI
08:30 EDT US GDP
08:30 EDT US initial jobless claims
08:30 EDT US quarterly personal consumption expenditures index
08:30 EDT US trade balance
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Britain's supply of homes for sale is at its highest point in eight years, according to research, in a trend which experts say will limit house price rises for the rest of 2024. Zoopla, the property website, said the average estate agent has 31 homes for sale, up 20% on the same point last year and the highest number since 2016. The statistic equates to about GBP230 billion-worth of homes on offer, as sellers continue returning to the housing market in growing numbers. Many existing homeowners delayed moving decisions in the second half of last year, Zoopla said, as the impact of higher borrowing costs on house prices and buyer demand knocked confidence.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Goldman starts GSK with 'neutral' - price target 1,850 pence
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Goldman starts AstraZeneca with 'buy' - price target 15,200 pence
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Berenberg raises Currys to 'buy' (hold) - price target 90 (67) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Auto Trader reported that in the year ended March 31 revenue rose to GBP570.9 million from GBP500.2 million a year earlier. Pretax profit climbed to GBP345.2 million from GBP293.6 million. Auto Trader said the new financial year has started well. Looking ahead, Chief Executive Nathan Coe said: "We are confident in our prospects for the year ahead and, in the longer term, we see significant opportunities to continue growing our marketplace and to move more of the car buying process online, on Auto Trader."
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Anglo American on Wednesday said it can "unlock significant value for its shareholders", as the miner goes at it alone after successfully fending off a takeover tilt from larger peer BHP Group. BHP just before the closing bell ruled out making a firm offer for smaller mining peer Anglo American, as its attempts to "grow the pie of value for both sets of shareholders" were rebuffed. BHP Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry said: "We were unable to reach agreement with Anglo American on our specific views in respect of South African regulatory risk and cost and, despite seeking to engage constructively and numerous requests, we were not able to access from Anglo American key information required to formulate measures to address the excess risk they perceive." Anglo American had rejected an extension to BHP's 'put up or shut up' date. Last week, the Melbourne-based miner's third GBP34 billion takeover proposal was rejected by London-based Anglo American.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Dr Martens reported that revenue in the year ended March 31 fell to GBP877.1 million from GBP1.00 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit dropped to GBP97.2 million from GBP170.1 million. Dr Martens said that current trading has been in line with expectations. The company proposed a final dividend of 0.99p, taking the total dividend to 2.55p, down from 5.84p. Dr Martens noted that financial 2024 was a "challenging year" for the company, with a difficult trading environment. "There remains a wide range of potential outcomes for both revenue and profit for the year, dependent on the performance through the key peak trading period," the company said. "For the first half, we expect a group revenue decline of around 20%, driven by wholesale revenues down around a third. Combined with the cost headwinds which impact both halves, the impact of operational deleverage is significantly more pronounced in the first half. Overall results this year will therefore be very second-half weighted, particularly from a profit perspective."
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Coats Group said it has appointed David Paja as its new chief executive. Paja will join the company on September 1 and assume CEO responsibilities on October 1. Paja was until recently CEO of GKN Aerospace, part of Melrose Industries. Paja replaces Rajiv Sharma, who has decided to step down from his role after 14 years with Coats. He has spent the last eight years as CEO. Chair David Gosnell said: "We are delighted to welcome David to the team. Having run a thorough search process, we are excited to have found a world-class candidate who has the experience and skills to deliver upon the next part of the Coats journey."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Nightcap said it will not make a takeover offer for Revolution Bars, but it will continue to pursue its consolidation strategy in the late night sector. On Tuesday, Revolution Bars rejected Nightcap's takeover offer. The Manchester-based bar chain, which operates the brands Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba, said it had received legal advice and concluded the plan was unfeasible. In April the company announced that it was facing financial difficulties stemming from the ongoing cost-of-living-crisis and recent train strikes in the UK.
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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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