London pre-open: Stocks to edge higher as geopolitical tensions ease
London stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Monday as geopolitical tensions ease.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 11 points higher at 7,379.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "An easing of geopolitical tensions is once again boosting sentiment as the new week begins pointing European bourses in the direction of a mildly stronger open.
"Signs that Washington will reach an agreement with Beijing have put US-Sino trade war fears on the back burner. Meanwhile, North Korea agreeing to suspend missile testing and closing a nuclear site has lifted sentiment, as the US North Korea summit looms. After weeks of pressing geopolitical issues taking centre stage, investors are starting to return their gaze to stock performance and central bank action."
There are no major UK data releases due, but Markit's eurozone services and manufacturing PMIs are at 0900 BST, while the same data for the US is due at 1445 BST.
In corporate news, Capita has unveiled plans for a £701m rights issue to enable it to carry out a new strategy as it reported "significant deterioration" in winning new business and a £513m loss before tax.
The main dent to profits came from a £551.6m write-down as the FTSE 250 outsourcing company wrote down the value of goodwill in its business in the face of "continued operational and external challenges" that have led to the sharp decline in new business opportunities from earlier positions, on top of contract terminations and "volume attrition", particularly in the Private Sector Partnerships division.
Elsewhere, Workspace has announced that it has acquired two further Centro buildings for £76.5m in cash.
Following the company's acquisition of five Centro buildings back in January, it has now bought another two freehold buildings in Camden providing 85,000 square feet of warehouse-style offices, with a communal roof terrace, reception area and a gym.
United Arab Emirates private healthcare operator NMC Health launched an offering of senior, unsecured, guaranteed convertible bonds due 2025 on Monday, with a principal amount of $450m, convertible into ordinary shares of the company.
The company said the bonds would be marketed with a fixed coupon of 1.875%, payable semi-annually in arrears and an expected initial exchange price at a premium of between 50% and 60% to the reference share price, being the volume-weighted average price of a share on the London Stock Exchange between launch and pricing, converted to USD at the prevailing spot rate at the time of pricing.