London pre-open: Stocks seen lower ahead of central bank announcements

London stocks were set to fall at the open on Monday ahead of key central bank rate announcements this week.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 25 points lower at 7,740.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "The strong start to 2023 appears to have given way to a little bit of caution for markets in Europe as we look to this week’s trifecta of central bank meetings, and what sort of outlook is painted by the Federal Reserve, ECB and Bank of England, and more importantly how many more rate hikes can we expect to see after next week.

"This caution looks set to translate into a lower open for markets in Europe this morning ahead of Q4 German GDP numbers which are expected to show the economy in Germany ground to a halt."

In corporate news, consumer goods giant Unilever said it has appointed Hein Schumacher as its new chief executive officer.

Schumacher will replace Alan Jope, who announced his intention to retire in September 2022.

Hein is currently CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal FrieslandCampina and became a non-executive director of Unilever in October last year. He will begin as Unilever CEO on 1 July 2023, after a one-month handover period.

Elsewhere, property manager Shaftesbury said its estate in London’s West End saw "buoyant" footfall and trading through the Christmas period, despite the broader cost-of-living crisis.

The company said occupier turnover grew 42% year on year in the three months to December 31 and 6% vs pre-pandemic December 2019.