London pre-open: Stocks to nudge higher ahead of jobs data

London stocks were set to nudge higher at the open on Tuesday as investors mulled the latest Brexit and trade-related developments and eyed the release of key UK jobs data.

The FTSE 100 was called to open six points higher at 7,219.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Talks between the EU and UK still appear to be stuck in the same old rut, though optimism was rising that some compromises might be forthcoming in the coming days, given comments yesterday from Finnish PM Antti Rinne last night that more time was needed, raising the prospect of an emergency Brexit summit next week, as well as indications from officials on both sides that there could be a compromise on the Irish border.

"It still seems likely that an extension will be the most probable outcome given the tightness of the timelines, as well as the proximity of this week’s EU council meeting, and the lack of a majority for anything in the UK parliament."

On the data front, the ILO unemployment rate, claimant count and average earnings are all due at 0930 BST. The unemployment rate for August is expected to remain unchanged at 3.8%, while weekly earnings growth excluding bonuses is expected to have eased to 3.7% from 3.8% in July.

In corporate news, Hays became the latest recruitment firm to report a fall in net fee growth from the UK and Ireland as Brexit worries continued to dent business confidence.

The company reported a 4% fall in UK first quarter net fee growth, with a 7% decrease in the private sector offsetting a 6% rise in the public sector. Total group growth was flat as macro-economic concerns hit Germany in an “increasingly challenging” climate.

With market conditions having continued to weaken in the third quarter, Vesuvius said it now anticipates full-year group trading profit to be between £180m and £190m, lower than the £197.2m achieved last year.

The molten metal flow engineering and technology specialist's steel and foundry divisions have both been impacted by weakening end markets, leading the business to focus on cost optimisation plans.

Rank Group said group like-for-like net gaming revenue was up 10% for the first quarter ended 30 September, with total net gaming revenue up 9%.

The FTSE 250 gambling operator said that on a channel basis, digital net gaming revenue grew by 16% and like-for-like net gaming revenue at its physical venues grew by 9%.