London pre-open: Stocks seen muted as trade war concerns weigh

London stocks were set for a muted open on Thursday as worries about a possible trade war between the US and China play on investors' minds.

The FTSE 100 was called to open unchanged at 7,132.

Jasper Lawler, market analyst at London Capital Group, said: "Concerns over an all-out trade war with China escalated on Wednesday, resulting in another day of losses on Wall Street. Investors are growing increasingly nervous as Trump rebuilds a White House team which is more in line with his interventionist approach to foreign policy and as reports surfaced that Trump is looking to put $60 billion of tariffs in imported goods from China, no longer just steel and aluminium. This is expected to be the last straw for China, with retaliation to this latest move almost a given."

Meanwhile, closer to home, rising tension between Russia and the UK was likely to weigh on sentiment.

"The pound was under pressure in the previous session as relations between the two nations deteriorated to a level not seen since the cold war. A period of tit-for tat punitive measures is now expected in retaliation for the Skripal poisoning and Theresa May’s expulsion of 23 diplomats. Any escalation in tension between the UK and Russia, particularly given the lack of UK economic data could result in the pound coming under further pressure today," Lawler said.

There are no major UK data releases due but in the US, jobless claims, the import price index, NY Empire State manufacturing and the Philly Fed manufacturing survey are all at 1230 GMT.

In corporate news, Unilever has announced it will base its corporate headquarters to Rotterdam from London as it combines its two classes of shares into a single entity.

The Anglo-Dutch company said the move was designed to simplify its corporate structure and strengthen corporate governance. The maker of Marmite and Dove soap currently operates with two parent companies with head offices in London and Rotterdam.

Consumer products group PZ Cussons updated the market on its trading for the year ending 31 May on Thursday, following its report in January that performance in the first half of the year was constrained by trading conditions in the UK and Nigeria.

At the time, the FTSE 250 firm said delivery of the full year result would be dependent on trading conditions in those markets for the balance of year. On Thursday, it said it was now apparent that profit for the full year would fall short of expectations, with the board anticipating that profit before tax will be in the range of £80m to £85m.

Old Mutual reported a 22% increase in underlying operating profits to £2bn as the Anglo-South African financial services group continued the process of splitting itself up.

Able to lift the total annual dividend 17% to 7.1p as adjusted earnings per share rose 25% to 24.3p, chief executive Bruce Hemphill said the separation had "improved the performance of the underlying businesses and set them up for continued future growth".