London pre-open: Stocks to edge up as investors mull GDP data

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following a positive session on Wall Street, as investors mulled the latest UK GDP data and eyed the release of key US bank earnings. The FTSE 100 was called to open 12 points higher at 7,806.

Data out earlier from the Office for National Statistics showed that the economy unexpectedly grew in November.

Monthly gross domestic product nudged 0.1% higher in November, following growth of 0.5% in October. Analysts had been expecting a 0.2% decline.

In the three months to November, however, GDP fell 0.3%, primarily due to the extra bank holiday in September for the late Queen's state funeral.

The main driver of November's growth was the services sector, which grew 0.2% following an increase of 0.7% in October, which the ONS revised upwards from its earlier estimate for 0.6%. The largest contributions came from administrative and support services activities as well as information and communication.

The FIFA football World Cup, which kicked off on 20 November, also helped, the ONS noted. Output in consumer-facing services growing by 0.4%, with the largest contribution coming from food and beverage services activities.

Production output decreased by 0.2%, following a fall of 0.1% in October, which was revised down from no change, dragged lower by manufacturing, which slid 0.5%.The construction sector was flat following growth of 0.4% a month previously.

Alpesh Paleja, lead economist at the Confederation of British Industry, said: "While the economy better than expected in November, the data cannot mask the underlining problems in the UK economy. High inflation is severely impacting household budgets and businesses are facing intense cost pressures. As a result, consumer spending and investment plans are weakening."

In corporate news, gambling firm 888 Holdings said its chief financial officer was stepping down and reported a 3% fall in group revenues for 2022.

The company said CFO Yariv Dafna would leave at the end of March. 888's online revenues fell 15% during the year as controls in the UK to protect gamblers took effect, although retail sales were up 54% across the year.