London pre-open: Stocks to nudge lower as investors keep an eye on Sino-US relations

London stocks were set to nudge lower at the open on Tuesday as investors continued to monitor any developments in Sino-US trade relations.

The FTSE 100 was called to open five points lower at 7,090.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "In the wake of Friday’s events, stock markets closed the week sharply lower also sending the Chinese yuan to new low. The tone then changed again after President Trump claimed over the weekend at the G7 that China had asked to restart trade talks, helping fuel a rally in the US and Asia at the start of this week as investors continue to ride a roller coaster of uncertainty against a backdrop of speculation about the state of mind of the US President.

"The claim that China wants a trade deal helped fuel yesterday’s rebound in US stocks, however the rally was half hearted at best. The claim doesn’t appear to have been verified from the Chinese side, however even if it had been its hard to believe that any progress will likely be made to stop the continued escalations."

In corporate news, higher production helped Polymetal report a strong rise in interim adjusted core earnings as its Kyzyl operation delivered at full capacity.

Adjusted earnings earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 34% $403m on gold equivalent production growth of 22%.

Gold sales were 604,000 oz, up 36% year-on-year, while silver sales were down 15% to 10.3m oz, in line with production volume dynamics.

PureTech Health reported a 12% drop in interim revenue as grant revenue plummeted from $3.3m to $0.4m, which more than offset impressive contract revenue growth.

With administrative fees and research and developments spending on the rise, the healthcare firm's operations loss deepened from $52.3m to $70.3m, though the company swung to a profit before tax of $11.1m from a loss of $16.1m after a gain in the value of its investments.

Russia-focussed real estate company AFI Development reported revenue of $182m in its half-year results, which included rental and hotel operating income of $63.2m.

The London-listed firm said gross profit for the six months ended 30 June was $92.8m, while it held cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at the end of the period totalling $99.1m.