London pre-open: Stocks to edge lower as investors eye Sino-US trade talks
London stocks were set to edge lower at the open on Monday as investors eye this week's trade talks between the US and China.
The FTSE 100 was called to open nine points lower at 7,146.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "US-China trade talks will resume this week, so traders will be paying close attention, as the trade spat between the two largest economies in the world has been a major source of volatility in the past year.
"Stocks in Asia largely traded lower overnight as traders aren’t overly hopeful of a deal being struck. It was reported that China has narrowed the number of topics they are willing to discuss, which has supressed investment sentiment. It is believed that China isn't willing to compromise on things like government subsidies or industrial policy - areas the US team are keen for them to reform."
Madden sad Brexit negotiations will also be in focus as French President Emmanuel Macron said the UK will have until the end of the week to update its proposals for leaving the EU.
"Prime Minister Johnson reiterated his view that the UK will be leaving the EU at end of the month, even though a law has been introduced to force Mr Johnson to request an extension to avoid a no-deal scenario," he said.
On the data front, Halifax house price data for September is at 0830 BST.
In corporate news, student accommodation owner Unite said it had sold two properties in Coventry for £96m to Mapletree Investments.
The sale was in line with book value, Unite said in a statement, and took its share of disposals in the year to date to £250.
"We intend to dispose of approximately £150m - £200m of assets per annum over the next three years," said chief executive Richard Smith.
Building materials supplier SIG issued a profits warning, citing deteriorating markets caused by Brexit worries and a weaker German economy.
The company said it now anticipated "significantly lower” full year underlying profits in both its specialist distribution and roofing merchanting businesses than previous expectations.
The group also said it had sold its air handling division and building solutions business for £235.8m, which when completed would “significantly strengthen” its balance sheet.
Vodafone said its British tests of open access radio technology could aid the company in becoming a major supplier of mobile network equipment to telecom operators.
The telecoms giant said the technology, which is also being trialled in Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique following lab testing in South Africa and Turkey, can connect some of the world's most rural communities to the internet using standardised and low cost equipment.