London pre-open: Stocks seen lower as investors eye Sino-US talks, Brexit developments

London stocks were set for a downbeat open on Thursday as investors eyed trade talks between the US and China and any further Brexit-related developments.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 38 points lower at 7,380.

Sino-US relations will be in focus again after it emerged overnight that US President Trump will meet with Chinese vice Premier Liu He as trade talks between the two nations continue in Washington.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "Larry Kudlow, economic advisor to the Whitehouse, said that China acknowledged issues like intellectual property theft and hacking. This was viewed as a big step forward in the talks, as previously, China denied the problems.

"These issues have been a major point of contention for the US, and the fact that they are being discussed, indicates that Beijing are serious about reaching a deal. Mr Kudlow said the Chinese trade negotiators are in Washington DC for three days, and they may stay longer."

Meanwhile, on home shores, Brexit talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were said to have been "constructive", with more meetings to follow. Also overnight, MPs narrowly voted in favour of asking May to request an extension to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

This will first need to be backed in the House of Lords, and then the EU will need to grant the delay.

In corporate news, TV and film producer and distributor Entertainment One said its 12-month performance was in line with expectations.

There was strong growth in the Family & Brands division, as evergreen Peppa Pig led to strong revenue from China and revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation both growing more than 25%.

Home repairs and improvements provider HomeServe updated the market on its trading following the end of its financial year, reporting "another very good year".

The FTSE 250 company said adjusted profit before tax was expected to be at the upper end of market expectations for the 12 months ended 31 March, and significantly ahead of the £141.7m delivered in the 2018 financial year.

Shopping centre owner and manager Intu Properties announced the appointment of Matthew Roberts as its new chief executive with effect from 29 April.

The group said Roberts would succeed David Fischel, who would be standing down from the board and leaving Intu on 26 April. Having been chief financial officer of Intu since May 2010, the firm said Roberts had "excellent" real estate and retail experience, and "detailed knowledge" of Intu's affairs.