London pre-open: Stocks seen up amid signs of Sino-US progress; Brexit events in focus

London stocks were set for a slightly higher open on Thursday amid signs of progress in Sino-US trade talks, as investors digested overnight Brexit developments in Westminster.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 11 points higher at 7,205.

According to Reuters, the US and China have made progress in all areas of talks bar enforcement and intellectual property.

Meanwhile, on home shores, Prime Minister Theresa May agreed overnight to quit if she gets backing for her Brexit deal, as MPs failed to reach a majority on any of the eight indicative votes in Parliament.

Senior Berenberg analyst Kallum Pickering said that nonetheless, the indicative votes yielded a few clear insights.

"(1) parliament is strongly against a no-deal hard Brexit; (2) so far, there is more support for a softer version of Brexit than Prime Minister Theresa May’s semi-soft deal; and (3) the option of a new referendum is not off the table."

London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said the fact that the pound continues to hover around the $1.32 mark "shows that despite the bedlam, pound traders are still confident that a no deal Brexit will be avoided in two weeks’ time".

In corporate news, Johnson Matthey said it has secured the site for a factory and a 10-year supply of lithium to enable the chemicals group to meet customers' future commercial requirements for its new eLNO electric battery cathode materials.

The FTSE 100 group has secured a site in Konin, central Poland, where it will construct a commercial plant with the aim of beginning production in 2021/22.

Sabre Insurance, the private motor insurance underwriter, declared a final ordinary dividend of 6.8p and a special dividend of 6.0p after it focused on underwriting profitability over growth last year.

However, adjusted profit before tax decreased 3.1% to £61.9m, with statutory PBT up 10.6% to £61.4m.

Aerospace, defence and energy components and systems provider Meggitt has been awarded a contract worth up to $37m from General Dynamics Land Systems, to provide the auxiliary cooling and power system for the Abrams tank programme.

The company said the system provided both auxiliary cooling and exportable power to the tank with the main turbine engine shut down, and supported a recent award from the US Government.