London pre-open: Stocks seen up as Qatar comes to Turkey's aid
London stocks were set to rise at the open on Thursday as market participants welcomed Qatar's pledge to invest $15bn in Turkey.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 23 points higher at 7,520.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said the news has gone down well with investors.
"After the triple digit decline on the Dow, Asian markets are trading higher and Europe is pointing to a positive start, clawing back the losses from the previous session. The pledge of cash by the oil rich state serves to remind us of the key geographical position of Turkey. Turkey’s President Erdogan is now reaping the rewards for standing by Doha in its recent spat with Saudi Arabia."
Officials in Turkey said the money from Qatar would be "channelled into Turkey's financial markets and banks".
On the data front, all eyes will be on the release of UK retail sales figures for July at 0930 BST. They're expected to have risen 0.2% month-on-month after unexpectedly falling 0.5% in June.
"Whilst hopes had been high that the World Cup and hot weather would have boosted beer and BBQ sales in June, the lift didn’t materialise," said Lawler. "July was the knock out phase and although England did well making it through to the semis, this is unlikely to have translated into strong retail sales. The British Retail Consortium retail sales figures painted a similar picture with concerns growing for the outlook."
In corporate news, Kingfisher sales were much spruced up in the sunshine of the second quarter after the DIY retailer wilted amid the snow at the start of the year. Group like-for-like sales bounced back up 1.6% in the three months to 31 July after a 4% decline in the first quarter, with UK and Ireland chains B&Q and Screwfix both increasing sales but France mixed.
Auto Trader Group has entered into an agreement to create a joint venture with Cox Automotive UK, it announced on Thursday, to provide a leading digital marketplace for wholesale vehicles in the UK.
The FTSE 250 company said the joint venture would provide the UK automotive market with a “comprehensive” online auction service. It said the business would be called ‘Dealer Auction’, and would provide fleet companies, manufacturers and retailers with a “more efficient and convenient” way to dispose of their stock of vehicles.
Oil services firm John Wood said it was selling its 50% stake in the Voreas wind farm joint venture in Italy for $27m in cash.
Wood's share in the joint venture generated EBITA of around $3m in the year to 31 December 2017. The disposal is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2018.