London pre-open: Stocks to rise despite disappointing China data
London stocks looked set to rise at the open on Friday despite the release of uninspiring Chinese growth figures and ongoing worries about Brexit and US interest rates.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 17 points higher at 7,044.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "There appears to be a rising concern that the Federal Reserve may well be on the verge of making a serious policy error, in terms of its keenness to normalise monetary policy in order to be better prepared for the next crisis, when it comes. The only problem with this is that their eagerness to do this is causing problems in other parts of the global economy, and in so doing is starting to cause a chain reaction, which looks set to rebound back at them."
Hewson also noted concerns over the economic outlook in China amid a deteriorating relationship with the US over trade, with the latest economic data showing that the economy slowed more than expected in the third quarter, with annualised GDP coming in at 6.5%, its weakest quarter since 2009 and below expectations of 6.6%.
Meanwhile, Chinese industrial production for September slowed to 5.8%, its lowest level this year, but retail sales picked up a little to 9.2% from 9%.
Brexit was still at the forefront of investors' minds after the EU said it was ready to extend the length of the post-Brexit transition if the UK wants. EU Council president Donald Turks told reporters at the EU summit on Thursday that if the UK decides an extension would be helpful in order to reach a deal, "leaders would be ready to consider this positively".
On the UK data front, public sector net borrowing figures for September are due at 0930 BST.
In corporate news, InterContinental Hotels had its best quarter for news signings and openings in a decade, though revenue per available room (revpar) growth slowed.
Global revpar grew 1.0%, with performance in the US impacted by strong prior year demand from the 2017 hurricanes.
Safety, health and environmental technology group Halma said it had bought Limotec, a Belgian fire control panel maker and fire system seller for €9.3m (£8.2m) on a cash and debt free basis.
The acquisition was completed on 18 October, and is expected to be earnings-enhancing, Halma said. Limotec's revenue in its last financial year to end December 2017 was €6.7m (£5.9m).
London Stock Exchange Group updated the market on its trading for the third quarter on Friday, reporting growth across the group for the three months ended 30 September.
The company said its revenue was up 5% and total income ahead 8% at £522m. On a like-for-like basis, excluding a £9m year-to-date accounting change impact on adoption of IFRS15 in Capital Markets, revenue would have been up 7% and total income up 9%, the board claimed.