London pre-open: Stocks seen up after Friday's losses

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to gain at the open on Monday following heavy losses at the end of last week. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points higher, having ended down 0.8% on Friday.

There are no macro releases of note due on Monday, but all eyes will be on the monthly UK GDP data on Friday.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The market expects a small uptick of 0.1% for February, which is down from the 0.2% increase in January, but if true it will add to the view that the UK's flirtation with recession was only brief. An improvement in industrial and manufacturing production is expected, while service sector growth is expected to be tepid, at only 0.1%. This could lead to some fears that the UK consumer is struggling.

"On the one hand this could make future economic growth less certain, on the other hand it could make the BOE verge towards cutting interest rates sooner rather than later, which could be good news for the FTSE 250. If growth is weaker than expected, this could weigh on the pound. The pound is no longer the best performing currency in the G10 this year, that spot now goes to the US dollar, which has gained as the market has priced out rate cuts from the Fed."

In corporate news, Rio Tinto announced the appointment of Bold Baatar as its chief commercial officer to oversee its global commercial and business development, succeeding Alf Barrios, who was retiring.

The FTSE 100 miner said Baatar, currently chief executive of copper, would assume the new role on 1 September, relocating to Singapore. Barrios would continue until August, transitioning to the role of chair for China, Japan, and Korea until his retirement at the end of 2024, while Baatar would manage sales, marketing, procurement, and business development, and maintain leadership on the Simandou project in Guinea.

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu cancer drug has been approved in the US for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic solid tumours who have received prior systemic treatment and have no satisfactory alternative options.

The decision was based on successful phase two trials which showed "clinically meaningful responses across a broad range of tumours," the two companies said.

FTSE 250-listed investment firm Caledonia Investments saw a solid increase in net asset value in the year ended 31 March, with all three investment pools contributing to growth.

The company reported a net asset value of £3.0bn for the year, up from £2.8bn previously, representing a NAV total return of 7.4%. Public company and private capital investments returned 12% and 12.3% during the year, respectively, while the funds portfolio returned just 2.2% as falling values of Asian holdings held back growth.