London pre-open: Stocks to fall on final day of 2021

London stocks were set to fall at the open on the final day of 2021, as investors continue to mull the impact of the Omicron Covid variant.

The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 25 points at 7,378 on what will be a half day of trading.

David Madden, market analyst at Equiti Capital, said: "It is worrying that case numbers are high, but the low hospitalisation rates are determining the mood in the markets.

"The pandemic has taken many twists and turns in the past two years, but ultimately the fear comes from the possibility of restrictions being imposed, and for the time being, it doesn’t seem as if governments are close to taking action that could cause major disruption to economies.

"At the beginning of the month, stocks were undergoing painful declines on account of skyrocketing case numbers, but when it because clear that hospitals were not going to be overrun by the new strain, traders were quick to pull a U-turn, and start snapping up stocks again. Recently, the FTSE 100 hit a 22-month high, and the DAX hit is highest mark in one month."

Unsurprisingly, there was no corporate news to speak of.