London pre-open: Stocks to gain ahead of quiet session

London-listed stocks are expected to begin Tuesday's session on a positive note ahead of what is expected to be a fairly quiet day.

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 19 points higher than Monday's close of 6,656.37.

The session will see the release of the Markit/CIPS construction report, which is forecast to show that the purchasing managers’ index has dropped to 61 in November from 61.4 the previous month. A reading above 50 signals expansion.

"European and US markets could well be in for a quieter session today after yesterday’s volatility as the economic calendar is looking a little light of any real data from Europe or the UK," said Alpari chief market analyst James Hughes.

"However, it cannot be ignored that Asia has managed to buck the trend and post gains overnight after a poor session in Europe and the US. However, the dominating force behind market volatility is likely to remain the oil price today as focus will shift to Russia and the almost 6% fall that we saw in the Russian Rouble during yesterday’s session."

Later on in the session, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen speaks in Washington on Tuesday amid speculation over the first interest rate hike.

The Federal Open Market Committee ended its bond buying programme at it last meeting and the central bank is now considering when to raise interest rates.

Yellen has said that the Fed is monitoring economic data to assess whether the US is ready for a rate increase.

The market will be watching to see if she provides any hints on the Fed’s next move when she delivers her address.

Fed official Richard Fisher is also due to speak in Washington.

Elsewhere in the US, data may show construction spending rose 0.6% in October following a 0.4% a month earlier, according to analysts’ estimates.

In company news, Astrazeneca said the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted its new drug application for Iressa, a treatment designed for use in with a particular kind of lung cancer. It is already approved in 90 countries, having first been launched in 2002.

Insurance giant Aviva has agreed a £5.6bn takeover of rival Friends Life in a deal giving the latter's shareholders just over a quarter of the combined group. Aviva said its proposal values Friends Life at 394p per share, versus Monday's closing price of 366.2p and 310p in the three months to 20 November.

Kitchens and joinery products group Howden Joinery has said that product sales have reached the £1bn mark with three trading weeks of the financial year still to go. This is the first time that the group has achieved this milestone, with revenues reaching £940.7m in 2013.