London pre-open: Stocks seen muted as retail sales disappoint

London stocks were set for a muted open on Friday as investors digest the latest UK retail sales data.

The FTSE 100 was called to open unchanged at 7,467.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales fell 0.3% in February following a 1.9% jump in January, and missing expectations for a 0.6% increase.

Heather Bovill, ONS deputy director for surveys and economic indicators, said: "After a buoyant January, retail sales fell back a little last month.

"There was a notable decline for companies that predominantly trade online, following a strong performance over the festive and new year period."

Meanwhile, the latest survey from GfK showed that consumer sentiment plunged again in March as fears about the soaring cost of living intensified.

The overall score in GfK's consumer confidence index dropped to -31 from -26 a month earlier as all five component measures fell. The overall figure was the lowest since November 2020 when Covid-19 levels were rising rapidly with no vaccine.

The biggest decline was in households' willingness to make a major purchase, which plunged to -24 from -15, followed by the outlook for the economy over the next year, which dropped to -49 from -43. People's view of their personal financial situation also deteriorated.

In corporate news, water supplier United Utilities said recent trading had been in line with internal expectations for the year ending 31 March.

United Utilities stated its full-year guidance remained unchanged, with net revenue expected to be approximately 3% higher year-on-year, largely reflecting higher consumption from business customers, while underlying operating profits were anticipated to be broadly flat as the increased revenues were offset by higher underlying operating costs, largely as a result of inflationary increases in its core costs.

Diversified UK engineer Smiths Group reported a rise in interim profit but said it expected a more challenging aviation market in an uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic environment.

The company posted an 13.0% rise in operating profit to £189.9m. It also held guidance for full-year revenue growth of 3%.