London pre-open: Stocks seen higher amid stimulus hopes

London stocks were set for a firmer open on Thursday as investors continued to pin their hopes on central bank stimulus after the Bank of Canada joined the Federal Reserve in slashing rates by 50 basis points.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 23 points higher at 6,838.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "Equity markets in Europe finished higher yesterday as dealers were hopeful that more central banks would take a leaf out of the Fed’s book and cut interest rates.

"There was chatter the European Central Bank as well as the Bank of England would lower rates too, and that speculation spurred buying. The rallies in Europe weren’t huge as some traders were sceptical about the prospect of lower rates. In addition to that, the deepening health crisis in Italy will cause further disruption in the country as it was announced the government will close all schools and universities in a bid stop the spread of the health crisis. It is the third-largest economy in the eurozone, so traders will be monitoring the situation."

In corporate news, Aviva posted record full year profits as general insurance sales increased and said it could withstand the impact of the coronavirus.

The insurer and investment firm reported a return on equity of 14.3% and 6% rise in operating profit to £3.2bn as the dividend was lifted by 3% to 30.9 pence per share.

Admiral announced plans for cofounder David Stevens to quit as chief executive as reserve releases helped the insurer post record annual profit of more than £500m.

Pretax profit for the year to the end of December rose 10% to £522.6m as group turnover rose 5% to £3.46bn. Stevens, CEO since 2016, will leave in March 2021 and will replaced by Milena Mondini de Focatiis, Admiral's head of UK and European insurance.

Premier Oil reported an improvement in production in its full-year results, to 78,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day, at the upper end of its guidance.

The FTSE 250 company said its 2020 guidance was for between 70,000 and 75,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, before any contribution from its announced UK acquisitions.

It said its profit after tax increased to $164m for the year ended 31 December, from $133m, while free cash flow reached a record of $327m from $251m in 2018.