London pre-open: Stocks seen lower amid mounting geopolitical tensions
London stocks looked set to for a negative start on Thursday amid rising geopolitical tensions.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 17 points lower at 7,240.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "The chance of hot war in Syria with opposing sides backed by the US and Russia has understandably left investors cold. Wall Street closed lower with the Dow losing over 200 points as investors moved into government bonds as a haven. The increased likelihood of supply disruptions during any missile strike saw the price of oil reach its highest since November 2014. Both Brent and WTI crude contracts have breached significant resistance levels, indicating a new breakout trend could be emerging."
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has summoned the cabinet to discuss the government’s response to the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria and according to press reports, the meeting is likely to lead to a backing of US-led intervention.
May had already said that "all the indications" were that the Syrian regime of president Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the attack.
Investors will also be digesting the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes late on Wednesday, which showed US central bankers were more confident on the economic outlook when they last met to decide on policy, with several of the belief that at some point in about two years' time rates would need to rise above their normal longer-run value.
There was little of note due on the UK macro front, with only the Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey at 0930 BST.
In corporate news, Intertek Group said it has agreed to buy Proasem, a provider of laboratory testing, inspection, metrology and training services, based in Colombia, for an undisclosed sum.
Proasem employs 190 people and in 2017 generated revenues of £4.5m, Intertek said. The deal is expected to complete in the next four weeks.
Countryside Properties has acquired Leicester-based partnerships housebuilder Westleigh for up to £135.4m in cash on debt free and cash free basis.
The deal, which is funded from existing cash balances and borrowing facilities, is expected to deliver high single digit accretion from the first full year of ownership.
LondonMetric Property announced the disposal of four distribution and two industrial warehouses for £36m on Thursday, reflecting a blended net initial yield of 5.9%.
The company said the properties were amongst the oldest within the LondonMetric portfolio, and were located in the Midlands and North of England, with a weighted average unexpired lease term to first break of 5.3 years.
Gambling technology company Playtech said it had agreed to buy 70.6% of Italian betting and gaming outfit Snaitech from two major shareholders for €846m.
Playtech added that it would have to make a mandatory takeover offer for the remaining stake in Snaitech after completing the initial purchase.
The deal, will be funded by Playtech's existing cash and new debt.