London pre-open: Stocks seen slightly higher; data in focus
London stocks were set for a positive open on Wednesday, clawing back some of the previous session's losses ahead of a slew of data releases.
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 10 points higher at 7,536.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "In the UK while the pound has recovered some ground after its wobble at the end of last week, there is a slightly more cautious attitude as a result of those narrowing polls, with another survey showing that the prospect of a hung parliament has also increased, which has also acted as a bit of a weight around sterling’s recent progress.
"Today’s economic data releases are expected to show there is increasing evidence that lending is continuing to slow with today’s latest consumer credit and mortgage data expected to show a slight slowdown in April, though we have seen consumer confidence for May show some improvement, coming in at -5, from -7 in April."
Net lending, consumer credit, and mortgage approvals are at 0930 BST.
Investors will also be digesting the latest data out of China, where the official non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 54.5 in May from 54.0 the month before and the official manufacturing PMI was unchanged in May at 51.2.
Elsewhere, the latest survey from GfK showed UK consumer confidence surprisingly improved marginally in May, rising to -5 from -7 the month before. The market had expected it to worsen to -8 as inflation and low wage growth increase the pressure on households.
In corporate news, despite a quiet fourth quarter for the markets, IG Group said revenue and profits for its fiscal year would be ahead of the previous year. For the three months to 31 May, the spread betting and CFD company saw higher revenues than the prior year, when its house broker had expected them to fall.
But IG said it now expects to report full year revenue around 7% higher than in 2016, though after a fall in the third quarter this is down from the 14% increase in net trading revenue seen in the first half of the year.
LondonMetric reported its annual results for the year to 31 March, showing a net rental income improvement of 5% to £82m and a £21m revaluation surplus, contributing to a reported profit of £63m - down from £82.7m.
The FTSE 250 firm declared a fourth quarterly interim dividend of 2.1p, with a scrip alternative.
In a separate announcement, the property investment firm announced the acquisition of three urban logistics warehouses in Crawley, Coventry and Huyton for a combined £23.9m.