London pre-open: Stocks seen up as Omicron worries ease

London stocks were set to rise on Thursday as worries about the Omicron variant eased after a study showed that people who catch it are less likely to end up in hospital than those who caught Delta.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 30 points higher.

According to a new study by Imperial College, people with a PCR-confirmed case of Omicron are 40-45% less likely to end up in hospital. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is due to report its findings on Omicron later in the day.

Danske Bank said: "Markets are heading into Christmas in a positive spirit after studies give encouraging signals that omicron might be less dangerous than the delta variant. A more infectious but a less dangerous variant has the potential to eventually bring the pandemic to an end as herd immunity could be reached more broadly without overwhelming hospital systems.

"From an economy's viewpoint, a scenario like this would imply less need for severe restrictions and more normal economic activity leading to an eventual easing in supply-side bottlenecks as well as a normalisation in consumption patterns."

In corporate news, bookmaker Flutter has acquired Italian online gaming operator Sisal from CVC Capital Partners Fund VI for €1.91bn in cash.

Flutter said that the acquisition was likely to complete during the second quarter of 2022 and was also expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings in the first 12 months post-completion.

FTSE 250 listed infrastructure investment company International Public Partnerships Limited said it had bought a small portfolio of UK public-private partnership investments for an initial £3.1m.

The portfolio is made up of interests in two community hospitals and minority interests in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) projects. Investment in minority interests in a further five BSF schemes from the same portfolio, representing up to £3m of additional investment, will be made by the company in the coming months, IPPL said.