London pre-open: Stocks seen up after positive US, Asian sessions

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following upbeat US and Asian sessions, as investors mulled the latest Chinese inflation data. The FTSE 100 was called to open up around 25 points at 7,287.

Figures released earlier showed that Chinese consumer price inflation slowed in August. CPI came in at 2.5% on the year, down from 2.7% in July and below consensus expectations of 2.8%. This was driven by a moderation in food price inflation, which dropped to 6.1% from 6.3%.

Meanwhile, producer price inflation declined to 2.3% in August from 4.2% a month earlier, versus consensus expectations of 3.2%.

Capital Economics said: "Consumer price inflation fell in August and remains below the People's Bank of China's preferred ceiling of 3%, leaving room for the Bank to ease policy further.

"Meanwhile, producer price inflation declined to its lowest in 18 months. We expect both inflation measures to continue falling over the rest of the year."

In UK corporate news, online fashion retailer Asos said that August sales had been weaker than expected due to accelerating inflationary pressures and a slow start to the Autumn/Winter shopping period.

Asos also said total sales growth and adjusted pre-tax profits for the 12 months ended 31 August were anticipated to be in line with market expectations of 0.3% to 6.3% and £9.0m to £43.0m, respectively.

Landsec said that chief operating officer Colette O'Shea will be stepping down "as the business moves into the next phase of its growth strategy".

The company said O'Shea has supported chief executive Mark Allan to develop and implement his growth strategy since 2020, establishing new structures and ways of working.

"As this strategy enters its next phase, there will be an increased emphasis on operational autonomy within business units, meaning the role of COO is no longer critical to its operations," it said.