London pre-open: Stocks to nudge up; RBS and IAG earnings in focus

London equity markets were set to nudge higher at the open on Friday, with sentiment underpinned by some well-received results from tech companies in the US.

The FTSE 100 was expected to open five points higher at 7,491.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "US stocks finished on a high note as solid earnings from Twitter and Ford helped the bullish sentiment. Tech giants Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon reported figures after the closing bell in New York. All the companies posted earnings that were ahead of analysts’ expectations, and the stocks all jumped in post-market trading."

Investors will also continue to keep a watchful eye on Catalonia as the Spanish Senate is expected to vote to impose direct rule on the region.

There are no major UK data releases due but in the US, third-quarter GDP figures are out at 1330 BST, while the Michigan consumer sentiment index is at 1500 BST. Consensus for the GDP reading is of 2.5% compared with 2.6% in the previous report.

In corporate news, Royal Bank of Scotland said it swung to a profit of £392m in the third quarter versus a loss of £469m in the same period a year ago, but down from a profit of £680m in the second quarter. For the year to date, the bank made a profit of £1.3bn.

Chief executive Ross McEwan said: "Our core bank continues to generate strong profits and we remain on track to hit our financial targets."

Elsewhere, British Airways and Iberia parents International Consolidated Airlines Group reported a 20.7% jump in third-quarter operating profit to €1.46bn and said operating profit for the full year should come in at around €3bn before exceptional items.

Chief executive officer Willie Walsh said: "All our companies performed well. Passenger unit revenue was up 2.2% at constant currency boosted by improvements in the Spanish and Latin American markets. Our commercial performance was good despite underlying disruption from severe weather and terrorism. IAG Cargo improved in the quarter due to stronger Asia Pacific demand compared to last year."

Following the recent announcement that Will Gardiner will succeed Dorothy Thompson as chief executive officer of Drax Group from 1 January, the board of that company said it is progressing a process to appoint a permanent chief financial officer (CFO) “as soon as practicable” on Friday morning.

The firm said in the meantime, Den Jones had been appointed as interim CFO of the Group from 1 November, and would work with Will Gardiner to ensure a smooth transition.

IT infrastructure services provider Computacenter saw overall revenue jump 27% year-on-year in the third quarter, to £931m, it announced in a trading update, with year-to-date revenue growing 18%. The FTSE 250 company said that on a constant currency basis, those two measures grew 20% and 12% respectively.