London pre-open: Stocks seen higher as investors mull ECB, Sino-US developments

London stocks were set to gain at the open on Friday as investors continued to mull the European Central Bank’s policy announcement and the latest developments in Sino-US trade relations.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 16 points higher at 7,360.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "The US indices saw volatility too as there was a report circulating that the President Trump was considering an interim trade deal with China, but that story was short lived as the White House made it clear it was ‘absolutely not’ contemplating such a move. The trading relationship between the US and China was given a lift in the early hours of Thursday when the US said it would delay a round of tariffs on Chinses goods by two weeks.

"We have seen a lot of back and forth in the Trump administration, and yesterday was a great example of it, as late last night Trump said he would consider an interim trade deal with China, and that lifted stocks in Asia overnight."

In corporate news, JD Wetherspoon reported 7% annual sales growth to £1.8bn as food sales and slot machine revenue climbed by 8% and 10% respectively.

Meanwhile, profits jumped by 7% and the company's owner, Tim Martin, said the business continues to perform well, with sales increasing by a further 6% in the period since the year end "despite continuing political problems".

SSE said it was selling its retail business to OVO Group for £500m, comprising £400m cash and £100m in loan notes. The proceeds will be used to cut debt, SSE said in a statement.

The two companies started talks on the deal last month. In May, SSE announced plans to offload the division after more than 500,000 households switched to a new supplier in the previous financial year.